17 DAYS OF HELL
by Bexi
Summary: Vexen creates a potion to destroy Marluxia's flowers - instead, it turns Zexion into a baby. Aging a year each day, Zexion has a 2nd chance at his childhood. But what happens when young Zexion takes a shine to Marluxia because of his scent? Not shōnen-ai
1. Prologue

17 DAYS OF HELL

A Kingdom Hearts fanfiction

Kingdom Hearts is property of Square Enix and Disney

This fanfiction is purely for entertainment – please do not get offended

Enjoy…

PROLOGUE

It was quiet in Castle Oblivion. Too quiet. However, this bothered IV; also known as Vexen, very little, as he was currently too engrossed with pouring the correct amount of liquid into the half-filled test tube he was holding. He bit his lip and took a breath before proceeding once more. His hands trembled as he slowly poured a single drop of fluid inside. Once the drop entered the tube, the reaction began. The original liquid, which was a morbid shade of black, now bubbled and began to turn into a brighter shade, which was very similar to purple. His emerald eyes widened as he watched, fascinated, as the fluid settled down.

"Perfect," he said, voice no louder than a whisper. "This will teach that insufferable fool, XI, a lesson."

Vexen turned, making sure he was careful with his soon-to-be-new-best-friend. He had no doubts that his concoction would be a failure. He felt too giddy for it to fail.

"Finally, after all the verbal abuse I've had to endure from that … that nobody! I've had enough of his believing himself to be better than me. I am of a higher rank … I am IV. He is XI. (Maybe XI failed maths and believes XI to come before IV?)"

A laughed escaped his lips. For a being who had no heart and could not feel emotion, he felt strangely happy at the thought of what his potion would do. It was ingenious. All this time he had been throwing his insults directly at Marluxia, who could quite easily throw each one back until the cows came home. _No_, Vexen decided, _I needed to find a different approach – one, I believe, to be most pleasing_.

A smile crossed his face when he mentally envisioned the look of Marluxia's face when he discovered that his beloved flowers would self-combust when sprinkled with water.

He laughed…

And laughed again…

And once more for the record.

Too occupied with attempting to make Marluxia's non-existence hell, he failed to see a smaller nobody walking his way. He didn't hear the slate-haired being greet him. Nor did he see the other's bright eyes narrow as he muttered about not even receiving acknowledgment from Vexen let alone a proper greeting from him.

Vexen was thrown from his reverie when he felt himself collide with the hard ground. He grunted as he rubbed his head and slowly pulled himself to his knees. He was about to see who had bumped into his when he noticed that he was empty handed. _Where is it?_ he panicked. He looked around hurriedly to the right and to the left. His eyes widened in horror as he saw the vial lying abandoned on the floor, empty.

"What-"

"Vexen! What is the meaning of this? And more importantly – what is this stuff!" yelled Zexion, member VI, in a strangely calm manner He was sat on the floor, pulling at his damp hair, which was beginning to clump together. The younger nobody used his right hand to wipe all the liquid from his face. He stared at his glove and narrowed his eyes. The smell was musky and somewhat acidic, which made his eyes water ever so slightly.

Zexion stared, the steely glint in his eyes causing Vexen to answer immediately. "I'm sorry, Zexion," he said, slightly annoyed at the loss of his work. "I did not see you there."

The academic wondered briefly how long it would take to recreate his potion. _What exactly had been used anyway,_ he wondered. During his excitement, he failed to write down each ingredient that was used. _They should still be on the side, _Vexen recalled. Yes … he would use whatever was on the side and hope for the best. _The result may turn out to be better than expected_, he smirked.

"Vexen," Zexion said in a low voice. "I asked what it was."

The blond haired man pushed himself from the ground, brushing off any dust that was attached to his coat. Once he was sufficiently satisfied that his coat was free from dirt, he directed his vision to Zexion, who was slowly standing up himself.

"There are no worries, Zexion," Vexen said in a confident voice. He over-linked his arms and smirked softly. "That is, unless you are a flower."

The slate-haired male arched a fine brow and directed a glare towards the Chilly Academic. "Are you trying to articulate something?"

Vexen laughed and waved his right hand. "Of course not. You misunderstand me, Zexion." He conveniently decided to ignore the look that crossed the Schemer's face as Vexen suggested he was wrong about something. "The potion was made for Marluxia's plants."

"And just what exactly were you planning to do to Marluxia's weeds, Vexen?" Zexion asked, dragging his fingers through his hair.

"Yes, Vexen," came a smooth, rich voice from being the blond nobody. "What exactly were you planning to do to Marluxia's _flowers_?"

Vexen narrowed his eyes and turned swiftly. He had not heard the other appear behind him, however, when one can instantly teleport in a mist of darkness, footsteps are usually unheard of.

"How long have you been there, Marluxia?" he demanded.

Marluxia shot an authoritarian glare at Vexen and let a fugitive smile flit across his face. "Long enough to know that you plan on conspiring against me."

"Conspiring?" Vexen laugh. "I would hardly call it 'conspiring'."

"Oh? What exactly would you call it then?"

Zexion watched as IV and XI went about their usual banter, which would habitually end with Vexen storming out and shouting about how nobody in the castle respects him. He was surprised that Vexen hadn't discovered how repetitive this was. _I have work to do_, he reminded himself. He would need to report his findings to Xemnas…

…However, he would need to remove this dried substance from his hair and face. He only hoped that he would not grow a second head. If he did, or anything of the sort happened, Vexen would be spending the next millennia believing he was a Persian cat named Moxie.

Only time would tell.

He turned steadily on his heels and began to walk away, leaving the two nobodies to argue over nothing. He managed to walk a few yards when his knees suddenly gave way and he felt himself falling to the ground for the second time that day. The only difference this time was the fact that instead of meeting the white ground, he met darkness.

"I'd hardly classify 'conspiring' as wanting to rid the castle of useless flowers," Vexen snorted, pulling his arms tighter around him.

"Hmph! Today is the flowers, Vexen, but what about tomorrow … and the next day?"

Vexen grinded his teeth together. Why did Marluxia have to ague with him constantly? He was one of the original founding six, not Marluxia. _Why did the Superior have to put _him_ in charge of Castle Oblivion? The power has rushed straight to his head…_

A sigh escaped his lips as he looked anywhere other than that disrespectful dog. _When had Zexion disappeared?_ he wondered, unable to see the Schemer. Then again, Zexion was aloof at best and would come and go as he pleased. Shame. He had hoped that the other may have offered his assistance.

His eyes scanned the white corridor when something caught his eye. At first he was uncertain of what it could be; however, having stared at it for a few seconds longer, Vexen realised what was lying motionless on the ground.

"Zexion!" he shouted, his tone similar to that of concern, if he were able to fully express this. He forcefully pushed his way past Marluxia, a smile creasing his face as he did this, and dropped to his knees next to Zexion.

Marluxia crossed his arms and observed silently, his eyes fixated on the sight before him. _Whatever it was that Vexen had created must have been powerful for it to take Zexion down_, he thought. True, he had not had the pleasure of observing Zexion to his fullest potential – _or any potential as a matter of fact_, the Assassin realised. He had not witnessed Zexion using his abilities for anything other than slight, mediocre reasons. This thought always crept into the back of his mind. Just how powerful was Zexion? Would he be the one to stand in his way of taking over the organisation?

Marluxia stared towards Zexion. _I will have to keep an eye on him – just in case_…

"Well, from looks of it he just fainted," Vexen said.

Marluxia looked up and wondered slightly whether Vexen was talking to him. He wondered why the academic felt the need to inform him of the Schemer's condition – he really did not care in the slightest.

He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off when Vexen stood up suddenly and said, "Stay here with him – I will be back soon."

The Graceful Assassin was about to inform IV of his place and that he had no right to be delivering orders to him, however, said academic was gone.

Walking with soft steps, Marluxia crouched beside the prone being and rested his chin on the palm of his hand. He stayed this way for almost a minute before pushing himself up and turning away. This was not worth his precious time. It was not his job to baby-sit younger members, despite the fact that Zexion had been a member before he had.

The mauve haired male created a dark portal and stepped towards it, casting one last look at the male on the floor…

His eyes widened as he made his way to where Zexion had been lying, the portal forgotten. It was fairly obvious now that there was no being on the ground. What had happened whilst his back had been turned? He had heard no sounds … meaning that another nobody had not come here.

Marluxia knelt down. "Odd. I'd always assumed that when a member of the organisation faded, they would take their clothes with them," he said, taking notice of the black robes that were discarded on the floor.

Had Zexion somehow passed over? It seemed very unlikely, but there was no other explanation that Marluxia could create. Zexion could not have regained conciseness and teleported out.

XI moved forward to grab the garments but swiftly pulled his hand back, as if it hurt. He did not move from his position next to the clothes.

"Did – did I imagine it?" he spoke aloud to no one. He had seen something move in Zexion's clothing. What though?

_There is only one way to find out_, he decided. Without hesitation, Marluxia grabbed a handful of black and pulled back, eyes widening in shock at what stared back at him.

"What on Earth…"

He stared, his mouth open ajar. Had any of the organisation members seen him, he was certain they would instantly laugh at his confounded expression. However, he was certain that his reaction would have matched the others, had they pulled Zexion's clothes aside to discover a sleeping baby, with a thin head of slate hair, curled into the warm security of the coat.

-

TO BE CONTINUED: 

NEXT CHAPTER: DAY ONE

-

AN: Okay, I'm not sure where this idea came from - it just suddenly appeared in my head while I was at work last week. Actually, to tell the truth ... the whole change to baby and aging each day was inspired by a Saiyuki fic I read a while back. If I could remember it ... I would credit it. However, I've seen lots similar :)

Just to let you know ... as stated above too ... this is a humour story - characters will be taken slightly out of character. Plus this is my first Kingdom Hearts story - that might be why too :)

Anyway ... Zexion and Marluxia are my favourite characters ... they also happen to be my favourite pairing too. But this story doesn't contain any romance :) So no worries there. I just wanted to poke a little fun.

Lastly - a bit of self promotion here: I have created a amv to the MaruShion pairing ... if anyone wants to check it out

http : / / it . youtube . com / user / kittykatkrisa (remove the spaces)

Bye

-Bexii


	2. Day One

17 DAYS OF HELL

A Kingdom Hearts fanfiction

Kingdom Hearts is property of Square Enix and Disney

This fanfiction is purely for entertainment – please do not get offended

Enjoy…

-- DAY ONE –-

- AM -

0-6 months

The Graceful Assassin was stunned. For once he could not find the words he was looking for that would give him the satisfaction of knowing that he had an answer for this. This was one situation that he had not planned for. One situation where he did not believe he could avoid. He placed his hand to his mouth and stared hard at the child in front of him. It was clearly obvious that … somehow … this child was, indeed, Zexion. How this had happened, Marluxia did not know. Possibly something to do with that potion that Vexen had spoken of.

Marluxia's brows knitted together and he thought about what needed to be done now. Having a child – a baby – inside the organisation would do them no good. At the last thought that ran through his head, the mauve-haired male allowed a shrewd smirk to cross his face.

"Whatever will the Superior do without the resident schemer's intellect?" he sneered.

He carefully extended his hand and softly caressed the child's head. "It really is such a shame that you are so loyal to Xemnas, Zexion. You and your enigmatic power would benefit me greatly – you'd make a valuable ally … or a formidable enemy."

He pushed himself from the floor and stared at Zexion. "However, this situation is not my concern," he said, before creating a black portal and steeping through it, leaving the child alone.

-

Marluxia stepped through the portal as the cloud of darkness disintegrated behind him. He briefly stared around before making his way towards the large window, delicately fingering the organza curtains that billowed in the breeze. The room he was in was no different to any of the other rooms located inside Castle Oblivion: the white walls adorned with a motif of roses and various vines that entwined together, the grooved pillars that reached up to the high ceiling like thin towers, the vast white flooring that seemed to forever glisten brightly. This was the basis of every room inside the castle – the starting point. It was true that other rooms were individual and contains furniture that is essential, however, when the furniture was removed, the castle remained bland. As it would for as long as time continues to pass.

The mauve-haired man directed his eyes from the walls to the outside world. The sky, too, remained the same. Neither lightness nor darkness. To most people who were unfamiliar with such a sight, the words beautiful, magnificent and wonderful would be used to describe the way the light and the darkness merged. However, to those who resided inside the castle, the words dull, repetitive and ugly were used to describe the sky. The sky was just one more reminder of what they were: nobodies. Beings that had lost their hearts and were now left alone - abandoned by the world. Not belonging to the light and not belonging the darkness. They were nothing.

"Why is it so quiet?" Marluxia said aloud, wanting to put an end to the silence. Despite the fact that the castle was enormous, there was always some form of sound that would linger. Whether this is footsteps or the odd muffled voice. It was as if he was the only resident inside the castle, which he knew to be fault. Both Vexen and Zexion had been seen today.

He wondered briefly why Xigbar was not spotted cleaning the floors and why Demyx had not been seen cleaning the walls. The Superior had made the huge mistake of sending both nobodies on a mission together. Needless to say, the results that Xemnas received were less than satisfactory. He sometimes wondered what went through the head of their Superior. Even a Dusk could have made the connection that Xigbar and Demyx would not take the mission seriously. What had Xemnas expected?

Marluxia was thrown from his reverie by the shrill cry of a baby. He was slightly amazed at being able to hear the cry considering he had left Zexion three floors below him.

He shook his head, turning his attention back to the sky and its array of morbid colours. He didn't know why he stared at the sky constantly. Perhaps he used it as a constant reminder of his goals and his longing to accomplish them…

The strident cry, once again, penetrated his thoughts and caused him to turn swiftly, glaring at the floor. _Why is that child still crying?_ he wondered. Surely if the sound bothered him, the others must be bothered too. Maybe curious as to the sound and where it originated from?

"How can one child make so much noise?" he questioned.

The nobody heaved a sighed and lightly rubbed his temples. The piercing sound was beginning to cause his head to hurt. Maybe this was due to the fact that he was unaccustomed to such sounds? Whatever it was, it mattered little to Marluxia. The sound was agonising and nobody inside the castle was doing a damn thing about it! He was suddenly reminded of the old saying he had heard once: why have a dog when you have to bark yourself? Or something very similar … he had not ventured to the other worlds in a while.

"Why have a dog indeed," he grumbled. He created a dark portal in front of him. "Why be Lord of the Castle when all the servants are incompetent idiots?"

He steeped into the portal, muttering, "Useless," as it closed behind him.

-

Marluxia stormed towards the baby, who was sitting up, pulling at the black material, and crying his eyes out. The older nobody narrowed his cobalt eyes and stared at the child, noticing that Zexion had felt another presence, however, this made no difference in the baby's disposition.

"Be quiet," Marluxia ordered in a deep voice. He wasn't too sure whether or not ordering a baby to stop crying would actually work, however, he knew nothing about babies. He couldn't even recall being within close proximity of a child, let alone a baby. Maybe there was a slim possibility that he may have had some contact with a baby when he was a somebody and the experience was lodged somewhere deep within his subconscious? He highly doubted it. If there was a chance that statement was true, then Zexion would be quiet right now, which he was not.

No. He would have to handle this situation the only way he knew…

Within the blink of an eye, a light cerise blade, attached to green snath, was pointed directly at the young child.

"I said quiet!" Marluxia snarled.

The assassin had expected the look of sheer terror to cross the baby's eyes and for it to stop crying immediately. He wanted the baby to be scared of the fact that he had a sharp instrument directed at him. He wanted to walk away and forget this had ever happened.

He had not expected Zexion to look at him with such excitement in his eyes and to start laughing and clapping.

The scythe disappeared in a haze of sakura blossoms, which caused Zexion to laugh again. Marluxia knelt in front of Zexion and smiled slightly.

"Well, I can see that, even as a baby, you are braver than some of the other organisation members, including that incompetent oaf, Vexen," he laughed.

He watched as Zexion smiled and looked at him, tilting his head, as if he was contemplating something vitally life changing. He wondered what was going through Zexion's head. Was he still the same manipulative schemer that he once was?

Marluxia moved his face closer, trying to understand the inner workings of Zexion. Maybe his eyes would reveal something? He watched the child blink several times before he slowly raised his hand.

The older man watched, confused, as Zexion moved his hands closer to his face. _What is he doing?_ he wondered. The child moved his tiny hands even closer to Marluxia and grabbed a handful of mauve-coloured hair, pulling slightly.

Marluxia arched as brow as Zexion softly pulled his hair. This behaviour was almost laughable. He had never seen anything like it, especially coming from the Cloaked Schemer. He had to admit, though never aloud, Zexion was incredibly cute as a child and this display of behaviour brought a little humour into his usually boring day.

"I hope you realise, Zexion, that if, and when, you grow up, I am going to be using this against you," he smirked.

Now thoroughly over the shock of Zexion being a child, Marluxia had one more question that needed to be answered.

"What do I do now then?" he wondered.

Marluxia watched Zexion's reactions carefully, seeing whether it would give him any hint on what he was supposed to do. The child merely babbled happily and pulled the assassin's hair again.

Despite the fact that Marluxia felt no pain through this action, he made a sound, eager to see and assess Zexion's reaction. It was his way of assessing the situation and finding a way to overcome this 'slight' problem. He watched with awareness as a look crossed the baby's cerulean eyes and felt the small hand leave his hair.

Marluxia smiled. "I don't usually give out compliments, but I can safely see that you are certainly advanced for your age. I would assume that most babies would not be able to assess the feelings of others, even if they are false."

Was this what Zexion was like prior to becoming a nobody? He wondered whether the baby knew that he was unable to express emotions and feelings, and whether the ones expressed so far had been harboured deep with the subconscious mind. There had to be some form of explanation as to why the emotions were expressed. Then again, nobodies were able to imitate emotions to the point where they were astonishingly realistic. Perhaps that's what had occurred here? One large charade of their non-existence? Perhaps emotions had nothing to do with the heart at all. After all, the heart was just an organ that pumped blood around body. Nothing more - nothing less. It was the brain that was the central system of the body. The brain that controlled the body…

Marluxia slowly, almost nervously (if possible), picked Zexion up and held him close to his chest. Zexion's coat was too bulky to carry around with him, so he used his sleeves to act as some manner of protection to hide the child's naked form. _Where am I going to find clothes for a baby?_ he wondered.

He pushed himself up and looked down at Zexion, who was staring up at him intently. A low laugh escaped his lips as he walked through the black mist behind him.

-

"Vexen!" Marluxia bellowed as he stepped through the portal into the dark room. His attention was drawn to a large sea-like creature that swam around inside a gigantic tank behind him. No doubts that began life as a small molecule that was slowly warped into something unheard of. _It's probably a failed replica of himself_, he sneered. Shaking his head, Marluxia looked around the room, seeing a large selection of science equipment cluttering a enormous white wooden desk, papers scattered around haphazardly, and a computer with a screen that looked far too big for the small keyboard.

He risked walking further into the 'lab', which, in his own opinion, could easily rival that of Dr Frankenstein's. He noticed that Zexion was no longer staring at him, but gazing around the dark room, until his gaze lingered on the swimming creature. Marluxia looked at Zexion and then back at the creature. _The kid has probably never seen a swimming experiment before – hell, neither have I! _he thought to himself.

He took a quick step towards the creature in the tank and moved his head closer, so both he and Zexion could gain a better look. The beast, which Marluxia had decided was similar to a large eel with a oversized head and a mouth full of razor sharp teeth, had stopped swimming and now remained still, staring directly at them.

"I think I actually see the family resemblance between that thing and Vexen now," he laughed.

The noise that Zexion was making caused the mauve-haired man to look down, seeing the baby holding out his hand and lightly touching the glass.

"I think we should see whether this thing can breathe out of water," Marluxia smirked darkly. He shook his head and turned quickly, ignoring the displeasing babbles from Zexion. "Vexen!" he shouted, hearing the sound echoing around the lab. "Where are you, you old coot?"

He knew that if he shouted his insults, then the Academic would appear instantly before him, eyes narrowed and his face contorting into a grimace. He waited for a moment longer before deciding that IV must not be here.

"Considering it's his fault that you're this way – he should be the one to put up with you," Marluxia said, sighing loudly.

He quickly paced up and down the lab, resisting the urge to overthrow the white desk and watch everything shatter. His brows knitted together as several strands of hair fell into his eyes. _Now what?_ he sighed.

Not being able to see any sight of the blond-haired man, Marluxia stormed towards the direction of the door. He could have easily teleported out of the room but he needed a way to vent his current anger at Vexen. Why did small things infuriate him so?

A deep breath escaped his lips as he closed his eyes, unconsciously tightening his hold on Zexion when he felt the child wriggle. Perhaps he could find another member of the organisation to help in the situation. Possibly one of the more gullible ones who would quiver to his every whim? _Then again_, he thought, _the others would be so shocked by this revelation that they won't notice if I leave him with them_.

He felt a slight tug on his hair again and looked down to see Zexion, hands wrapped around the light bangs, gazing up at him. He arched a brow, watching as Zexion tugged on the hair. "I'm taking it this is your way of getting attention?" he asked the child, which resulted in his hair being tugged, yet again. He laughed heartily. "At this rate you'll be worse than Larxene – she's a secret hair puller."

He conjured up a portal and walked through it.

-

He stepped out of the portal that led to the kitchen. He looked around, expecting to see at least one other person. The kitchen was the one place that was constantly occupied, no matter what.

"What are the chances of the kitchen being empty when I need somebody (or nobody would be a better choice of words)?" he said, looking around.

The kitchen, like every other room in the castle, was white. Work surfaces coursed to the end of the room, the sink was large enough for two people to use at the same time and have room to spare, and the floor shone, with its white and lustrous marble tiles. Overall, the kitchen was clean and crisp, and the white finish was wonderfully shiny and smooth to the touch.

Marluxia moved his head from left to right. This really did seem all too coincidental. It was like some cruel, twisted parody. Maybe the others were playing some strange joke on him for all the times he had treated them less then grand? There had to be some reason why everyone was not where he wanted them to be.

The Graceful Assassin scrunched his nose as an appalling smell tickled his nostrils. He recognised the smell; however, he just could not place it. What was it? He looked at Zexion, who was smiling and laughing. The smell grew stronger though.

Marluxia's eyes widened. "Please tell me you didn't," he pleaded, holding the baby away from his chest. It was as he dreaded. The baby was wet and, despite his coat being black, the stain was still very noticeable. "I hate you right now," Marluxia grumbled in a low voice.

There was nothing he could do to change the situation, so he would just have to grit his teeth and deal with it. Maybe it would be all over soon. Maybe the key bearer would break into the castle and start stabbing him with the blunt end of the keyblade. Whatever he decided to do, it needed to be done quickly.

He grumbled and cursed Zexion as he walked to the sink and began filling it with water, adding at least one quarter bottle of washing-up liquid. He reluctantly held the baby close to himself again as he took off his glove, using his teeth. He tested the water and once it was a sufficient temperature, Marluxia placed Zexion, rather roughly, into the water.

"Knock yourself out," he said. "If I'm lucky – you might just drown."

As soon as Zexion was inside the water he began to play with the bubbles and splash, water over spilling, creating a largely growing puddle on the floor. Marluxia smirked as he took his long coat off and placed it straight on the work surface. He reached for the clothe that was next to the sink and dropped it in the water before taking it out and began to harshly scrub at the stain. He was uncertain whether or not the stain had vanished; however, the smell had disappeared, which was a start.

Marluxia stopped what he was doing for a moment to stretch and quickly check on Zexion. The baby was still entertaining himself with the bubbles. He would scoop them in his hands, laugh and throw them on the floor. Marluxia had to laugh at the expression on Zexion's face as he discovered that the taste of bubbles wasn't nice.

Shaking his head, the mauve-haired male crossed his arms and leant on the surface. He decided that he would just throw his coat in the washing machine and wait for someone to wash it. He had spares in his room. He cast his cobalt eyes down; the water was beginning to reach his boots. He wondered about who was the unfortunate nobody who had the duty of cleaning the kitchen. It wasn't him, he was certain.

Marluxia reached over a scooped a handful of suds and dumped them on Zexion's head. "Payback for peeing on me," he smirked. He was about to grab another handful when he heard footsteps outside the door. His eyes shot in the direction of the noise. "Finally," he muttered, pushing himself from the surface to greet who it was at the door.

-

Just as Roxas was about to turn the handle, the door opened. _Okay_, he thought. He shook his head, looking to see who had opened the door. He did not expect to see Marluxia, number XI, The Graceful Assassin, Lord of Castle Oblivion, leaning in the doorway and smiling, top-less. "W-why?" he began, pointing slightly.

"Were you never taught that it is rude to point?" he stated. "However, that is beside the point. I need a favour of you, XIII" the assassin asked in an overly polite tone.

Roxas arched a brow, his expression changing from majorly bored majorly to suspicious. Axel had told him many times that you could not trust Marluxia as far as you could throw him. _Would this be one of those times?_ he wondered.

"What is it?" he asked, caution clearly evident in his voice.

Roxas saw Marluxia look back into the kitchen for some reason before turning his attention back to him.

"I need you to watch Zexion for me," he said, the eerier smile still on his face.

Roxas decided that he did not, for one moment, like that smile. It was too un-Marluxia-like for it to be real. Something was wrong here. Marluxia does not ask for favours…

"W-wait a second," Roxas stuttered, confused. "Watch … Zexion?"

"Yes," Marluxia replied quickly. "He's currently playing in the sink with the bubbles."

The confused expression on Roxas' face grew even more as Marluxia said this. He was speechless. Even if he could find words to speak with, what could he say? _What is going on here?_ he asked himself. He looked up, about to demand some form of explanation from Marluxia, only to see a cloud of darkness disappearing.

"Okay then," Roxas said, confused … again. He took a breath and slowly pushed the door open, uncertain of what it was he was going to be facing.

-

TO BE CONTINUED

NEXT CHAPTER: DAY ONE: PM

-

AN: Okay then ... just a few things to mention here. Thank you all for the reviews - I didn't expect any to be honest :) As for the question about the Saiyuki fic: I can't find it ... I don't think it is here on anymore. I thought that it was from the same author (Greylily) who had written the fic where Sanzo turns into a dog (A Dog's Life I think) ... but it wasn't that one. Sorry.

Right ... I'm aware that the chapter wasn't as funny as I originally thought it would be. I usually do that - turn a humour fic into a serious one. I'll try not to do that this time :)

Last thing to mention is about how I decided to portray Marluxia. Despite the fact that he has pink hair, petals follow him everywhere and his weapon is pink ... I think he's a complete badass. All you have to do is look at his expressions in the COM remake. Plus his seiyuu is brilliant … and Zexion's too (Akira Ishida is god in my eyes J). Now, I just want to quickly explain why I went from him pointing his weapon at Zexion to smiling at him: I personally believe that Marluxia is one of these people who take an interest in first impressions and that they are vital to him ... so I tried to make baby Zexion make a good one by not being afraid of him. That is just my opinion though... it may be wrong. Just in case any of you were wondering. I'm trying to keep them in character…

Right ... that's long enough. Some of the chapters, like this one, may be split into AM/PM depending on how long they will turn out.

Thanks again

-Bexii


	3. Day One Part 2

17 DAYS OF HELL

A Kingdom Hearts fanfiction

Kingdom Hearts is property of Square Enix and Disney

This fanfiction is purely for entertainment – please do not get offended

Enjoy…

-- DAY ONE –-

6-12 months

The once youngest member of Organisation XIII took a deep breath as he pushed the door open a little, resisting the urge to close his eyes. Perhaps he could just turn around and go back to his room. He wasn't that desperate for a drink. _Get a grip, Roxas!_ he scolded himself. _You're just being pathetic._ He really did hate when he began having arguments with himself. The logical side of his brain always won, meaning that he usually did not get his own way. This was a prime example of one of those times. He wanted to run to his room and forget that Marluxia had completely crept him out, however, he knew that he should go into the kitchen. He was originally going to the kitchen to get a drink so he could not change his course.

The blond nobody sighed. He had wasted the last five minutes debating with himself. He would not waste the next five…

_On the count of three, he decided. One … two – I'm stalling again! Okay … here goes…_

Slowly, Roxas pushed the door open the rest of the way and carefully looked around. He could hear something that resembled splashing water. It was then he recalled Marluxia saying something about Zexion playing IN the sink. _Maybe Marluxia has been sniffing one too many flowers_, Roxas suggested. _Who knows what he grows in his room_.

He diverted his gaze to the direction of the sink. His light eyes widened and his mouth dropped open ajar. It was as if his brain could not comprehend the simple fact that there was a baby, covered in soapy bubbles, sitting in the sink, splashing water everywhere. He continued to stare, noticing that the baby had now stopped splashing and was staring directly at him. There was something strangely familiar about being held by the piecing gaze of cerulean eyes.

Roxas took a step forward, his curiosity getting the better of him now. He remembered Marluxia's words:

_"I need you to watch Zexion for me."_

_"He's currently playing in the sink with the bubbles."_

He looked at the baby. If he had learned anything from being with Organisation XIII, it was that strange things happen on a regular occurrence. He was certain that he knew what was going on here and he was determined to handle this in a mature and dignified manner.

He walked forward, head held high, a neutral expression on his face. He instantly regretted holding his head high when he felt himself slip on the wet floor. He couldn't fully explain what happened. It was a blur – it had happened so fast. One minute he was walking, the next minute he had slipped and did not stop until he collided with the sink.

_Ouch_, Roxas thought, rubbing his head. One of these days he would not trip over his own feet … as much. He was now glad that the only one to witness his clumsy moment was unable to talk. The blond reached and grabbed onto the sink for support as he tried to ease himself up. It, apparently, was not to be, as the baby decided now was the perfect moment to laugh and splash. The sudden wave of water in his face caused Roxas to let go of the sink and fall back to the floor. _Hello again floor_, he thought, face flat in the puddle. Roxas heaved a heavy sigh as he began to lift his head, cringing as another spatter of water hit his head.

Roxas shook his head as he pushed himself into a kneeling position. He was not going to humiliate himself furthermore by attempting to stand. He looked up to the baby, who was laughing - possibly at his expense - and wondered how there could still be water inside the sink when the kitchen had turned into an indoor swimming area. To further prove his point, Roxas patted the floor and listened to the sound of splashing, feeling the liquid soak into his gloves. _Oh well_, he thought. There was nothing he could do. What's done is done, so they say.

Roxas shuffled closer to the drawer near the sink and wretched it open, revealing it to be full of white towels. He grabbed a handful and threw them haphazardly onto the floor. With the softness there to absorb the water, he would not have to worry about further slipping on the water.

Once standing, Roxas let a smile of triumph flit across his face. Yet again another hurdle in his life that he had managed to overcome. Nothing could stop Roxas when he seriously placed his mind to the task at hand. He smirked as he diverted his attention to the baby. The child had ceased all movement and was staring at Roxas. If Roxas did not know better, he would have bet 5000 munny on the fact that the baby looked somewhat disappointed that he had managed to accomplish the simple task of standing.

Roxas ignored the look and grabbed another towel from the drawer and turned to Zexion. "I need to get you out of the water before you resemble a shrivelled paopu," he told the baby. The baby did nothing except look at Roxas, however, this one look was enough to convince Roxas of the baby's identity. "You really are Zexion, aren't you? I can tell by the condescending look in your eyes whenever I speak to you."

Zexion's reply to that was crossed between a murmur of disgust at the fact that a lower ranking member had the nerve to speak to him like that, and a disappointing cry because Roxas had mentioned that he would have to leave the comfort of the warm water and soft bubbles. Roxas, on the other hand, could not tell the two apart and figured that Zexion was just being … well … a baby. He picked him up carefully, somehow managing to wrap the towel around the wriggling form and not drop him. Roxas was inwardly pleased with himself for such a feat.

The blond looked down into the sink to see how much water remained and arched a brow when he saw that the majority of what remained in the sink was bubbles. _Just how much washing-up liquid did Marluxia put in here?_ he wondered.

"Ma," Zexion murmured, lightly thumping Roxas' chest.

Roxas looked down, walking slowly to the table at the far corner of the room. He wondered just how many knew about Zexion being this way and why had none of them told him. _Does the Superior know?_ he asked himself.

"Ma," Zexion murmured again, this time louder.

XIII looked down at Zexion, curiosity planted across his face. "What is it?" he asked the baby, hoping for some answer that would indicate what Zexion wanted.

"Ma!" Zexion wailed, hitting Roxas.

Sighing, Roxas sat down on the nearest chair. He knew that babies required a lot care and attention and that the organisation was not the best place for a baby to be. He also knew that he was only fifteen years old and did not know a thing about babies either. The closest he had come to a baby was that television programme he had seen where the babies talked to one another and went on all kinds of fun adventures. He wasn't sure how much of that was actually true though. But nevertheless, all he knew was that Zexion wanted something and he had no idea what the child needed. He began to mentally make a list of all the things that Zexion could possibly want:

Food – babies need to eat too. He did not wish to see the outcome of leaving the child to starve.

Clothes – this was an essential too. A towel does not classify as adequate clothing.

Nappies (or diapers) – Roxas shuddered to think of the outcome of not having these.

Everything else he failed to list – these were essential too.

The list was long indeed. "What should I do?" he sighed. Seeing Zexion, tears welling in the corners of his cerulean eyes, made him realise one thing: he hated Marluxia. He hated Marluxia more than when Xigbar snuck up on him and gave him a nuggie that would leave his head thumping for hours afterwards. It was the Graceful Assassin's fault that Roxas was sat in the kitchen with a baby in his arms, trying desperately to decipher the cries. If anything would go wrong, Roxas would place all blame on Marluxia's shoulders.

"I don't know what you want, Zexion," he said, voice void of emotion. "Marluxia didn't provide an instruction manual with you…"

"Ro-o-oxas!" came a sing-song voice, followed by a tall nobody, from a dark cloud. "Oh, Roxas!" Axel yelled in a high-pitched voice, looking around for Roxas. The boy had said that he was going to get a drink, to which Axel asked for one too, and 30 minutes later, Axel was still thirsty. He decided to hunt the drink down, hopefully finding Roxas in the process.

He took a step forward, smile planted on his face, as he turned his head to the far corner. "What the hell is that!" he yelled, emerald eyes wide, as he pointed to the baby in Roxas' arms.

Roxas arched as brow and answered the question, or surprised exclamation, as if it was the simplest thing in the whole of Castle Oblivion. "It's a baby, Axel."

Axel narrowed his eyes, walking quickly towards Roxas. "I know it's a baby, Roxas," he said, a note of slight irritation creeping into his voice. "I just wondered where you kidnapped the baby from."

Roxas blinked. "I … Kidnapped?"

"Yes, Roxas. Kidnap is where you unlawfully capture somebody … in your case a baby," he smirked.

"I know what kidnap is, Axel," he retorted, the sense of déjà vu floating around him.

"I also know that this conversation can carry on like this until the day Castle Oblivion falls down," he laughed, stretched his arms over his head. He looked over to the baby, studying every aspect of the child. It was always essential to know the ins and outs of those who reside in Castle Oblivion – just in case. "So…" he trailed on, using his hands as emphasis for Roxas to continue.

"Oh," Roxas said after a minute of silence. "Marluxia asked – well conned really – me into looking after him for … well I'm not certain if he's actually coming back to be honest…"

The crimson-haired nobody arched a fine brow. "Did our high and mighty Lord get bored of growing flowers and decide that more of a challenge would be to raise a child?" he asked, leaning on the wall, arms crossed. "He does realise that, despite being a nobody, he can't just go around kidnapping babies whenever he feels like it, right?"

Roxas shook his head. He really did not picture Marluxia as the kind of nobody who would go around kidnapping young children. Then again, he realised, he had never met a kidnapper before in his non-existence so he would not know what to base his analysis on. He had always assumed that the stereotypically pervert was a shifty old man who wore a long raincoat … possibly hunchbacked – he just decided that felt right. The young boy stopped himself there due to the fact that the main attire for the organisation was a long black coat and that several members were older and looked rather shifty.

"It's Zexion," he said quickly, mentally changing the topic inside his head.

Axel scratched his head. Sometimes he just could not keep up with his friend's thinking. One moment he could be involved in an engrossing conversation, and the next moment he could look at you with this glazed expression on his face, which clearly said that he had no idea what was going on. Blank with a capital B, is what Roxas was like at times. Axel personally blamed Roxas' somebody for that fault.

Either way, Roxas could have an endless list of faults and Axel would still be his best friend. Friends look past the faults. Friends pick at the faults, whilst pointing and laughing at the same time. Friends know all about you and still, strangely enough, like you for it. The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit with on a clock tower, eating sea-salt ice cream, never saying a word, and then walking away feeling like it was the best conversation you've ever had…

Axel decided that he was going to put an end to his grand, internal, debate on friendship. Friendship was cool and all, however, he was bordering on the edge of corny … or slight friendship insanity - whichever took a hold of his brain first.

"What's Zexion?" he asked.

Roxas pointed to the baby in his arms. "This is Zexion."

Axel moved away from the wall and stood in front of Roxas, waving his arms. "Woah there. Let me get this straight: Marluxia kidnapped this random child, named it Zexion, and landed it with you?" Axel said, thoughtfully. "Me thinketh Marluxia haveth several issues."

Roxas nodded in agreement. He had wondered the same thing about all the organisation members – Axel included. Nevertheless, the Flurry of Dancing Flames needed to be properly informed of the situation.

"This baby IS Zexion … look into his eyes and you'll notice right away."

The red-haired man dropped to his knees in an overly dramatic manner and took Zexion's chin in his hands, turning the child's head to face him. He moved his face closer and stared deep into the baby's cerulean eyes. He stayed in this position for a minute, occasionally tilting his head to the side.

"It's like I can see the cogs turning inside his tiny head – he's plotting my death … I can sense it."

Axel jumped to his feet, showing a row of pearly white teeth. He cleared his throat and rubbed his gloved hands together. "Right then, Excuse me while I point and laugh at the misfortune that has befallen our dear little Schemer here," he said in a sugary deprecating voice.

Roxas sighed, lightly shaking his head. "Axel, we really don't have the time for this."

Axel wriggled his forefinger and began to click his tongue. "Tsk tsk, Roxas. There is always time to have a laugh at someone else's expense."

Roxas shook his head. "Not when we have a baby here who needs things, likes clothes and food…"

The older nobody sat on the edge of the white table and softly chewed on the end of his thumb. "What we need," he began, "is for someone, like Demyx, to come skipping and singing into the kitchen. That way we can send him on a nice little joyful adventure."

As if on cue, the door was thrown open and in skipped the Melodious Nocturne, humming a cheery song that sounded off key badly. Some songs just weren't meant to be hummed. The blond nobody smiled widely as he used his foot to kick the door closed and stopped where he was, swaying his body to the 'music' and preparing for the big finish. He crouched to the floor and threw his arms in the air when he ended the last hum. Once his 'song' was over, Demyx stood up and exhaled loudly.

A cough caused him to turn to the direction of the long table at the far corner. Demyx waved and smiled as he walked over to where Roxas and Axel were. He had always gotten on with Roxas, possibly due to them being only a few years apart. It was always nice to be able to socialise with the others inside the castle. As it would seem, the social groups, if that is what they could be classified as, had already been formed. The Superior was usually in the company of Saix … possibly due to the fact that both of them shared the extreme desire to find their hearts and that Saix was – _don't use the word suck up, Demyx_, he scolded himself. Xigbar, Xaldin and Luxord were usually seen in the same company as one another – drinking, gambling, general things that one does when they reach over a certain age. Vexen, Lexeaus and Zexion spent most of their time … doing whatever it was they did, despite the fact that they usually do these things alone. However, Demyx was certain there was a social group there – there had to be. He would need to be more observant. Larxene and Marluxia were, more than often, within each other's company … except for certain times where even Marluxia avoided Larxene. This was happening more frequently. Lastly there was Axel, Roxas and himself. As he had said before, Roxas was close to his age so he could semi-relate. Plus, wherever Roxas went, Axel tagged along, leaving a trail of fiery destruction in his path. Those were the social groups that he had figured everyone was in. Yes, others strayed, such as Larxene and her strange fondness of Axel … but they would always go back to the same old routine they had.

It really did not make a difference to Demyx. If he wanted to talk to a certain nobody – he would.

Demyx approached the two nobodies, still smiling. He was about to verbally greet them when he saw the baby, wrapped in a white towel, glaring and randomly shouting "Ma!" He stopped where he was and clasped his hands together, eyes wide as he dropped to the group. "Aww! What a cute baby," he squealed in glee. He thrust his face in front of the child and softly poked his cheeks. "You know," he said thoughtfully, looking up at Roxas. "He looks a lot like Zexion."

Roxas did not hesitate to inform Demyx that the baby he was currently poking was Zexion. It was only fair that he know – the whole organisation would have to know about this sooner rather than later. XIII carefully observed Demyx's behaviour with Zexion. The other was not phased that by the fact that one of them had regressed, literally, back to infancy.

"Are you not shocked?" he asked, curiosity filling his voice.

Demyx did not look up and continued to poke Zexion, this time in the stomach, saying "coochy coochy coo" in a sing-song voice. The cheery nobody laughed, quickly looking up at Roxas. "After that time Vexen accidentally turned himself into a squirrel, one of us turning into a baby seems almost natural," he smiled.

"Good times," Axel sighed, closing his eyes at the memory. "One of the few times Marluxia and I worked together. We were so close to barbequing him too."

Roxas stood up. He did not like the look that flitted across Zexion's face and decided that now was a good time for Demyx to go on his adventure, as Axel had put it. He lifted Zexion up and let a small smile touch his lips. He saw the baby's eyes light up and heard a loud, and rather pleasant "Ma?" leave his mouth. He really did want to know what Zexion meant by "Ma". He hoped whatever it was the baby wanted, he could wait a little bit longer.

"Axel?" he said softly.

The red-haired nobody turned his head to where he heard his name. He did not answer verbally but he nodded his head to indicate he had heard. Roxas walked a little closer and suddenly thrust Zexion in the Axel's arms. "Could you just watch Zexion for me?" he said, creating a cloud of darkness and grabbing a hold of Demyx's sleeve. "We need to get Zexion some things. We won't be long," he told him, smiling.

Demyx looked in every direction and pointed to where Axel was stood, wide-eyed, with an equally wide-eyed baby in his arms. "But…"

He did not have a chance to finish his sentence as the portal closed, taking them both to where they needed to be.

Axel stared at the area where the portal once was. He half expecting Roxas to come back, saying it was a joke and that he was happy to take Zexion back. However, the longer he stared at the empty space, the more he realised that Roxas was not coming back. He had just been duped … by his own best friend too…

_Now what?_ he asked himself. He wondered briefly whether this was his comeuppance for laughing at Zexion's expense. Karma really was a bitch.

"If Roxas can do this … so can I. Hell, if _Marluxia_ can do this then I most certainly can," he smirked, looking down at Zexion as he held him tightly in his arms. "We're going to have lots of fun."

A loud laugh escaped his lips as he took long strides towards the door, his long coat billowing in the make-shift breeze. He did not see Zexion's eyes narrow or hear the whisper of "ma" as he opened the door and slammed it shut.

-

TO BE CONTINUED

-

Author's Notes: This chapter had to be re-uploaded because somehow I managed to screw up the whole thing. How I don't know. So, I can't put the original notes up now explaining about whatever it was I explained. It doesn't matter really lol it's just annoying me.

Oh well


	4. Day One Part 3

17 DAYS OF HELL

A Kingdom Hearts fanfiction

Kingdom Hearts is property of Square Enix and Disney

This fanfiction is purely for entertainment – please do not get offended

Enjoy…

-- DAY ONE –-

6-12 months

Axel heaved a sigh as he stepped through the kitchen and entered the lavish sitting room. The ridiculously high ceiling gave the impression that the room was larger than it actually was, however, considering the fact that room contained three pristine sofa's, four matching chairs, one exceptionally large television and a glass coffee table in the centre of it all, the room was spacious enough. Emerald eyes scanned the room in hopes of finding something – anything – that could occupy the child in his arms until Roxas returned. Unfortunately, when your home happens to be Castle Oblivion, entertainment does not come in forms of physical items. Either way, Axel's idea of fun was every different to Zexion's.

The crimson-haired nobody sighed dramatically, sat down on the floor and exclaimed, "Inspiration – come fourth!"

He sat Zexion on the floor directly in front of him. Maybe the baby could do tricks and would reward Axel with an entertaining performance?

He waited…

And waited…

And waited…

The only thing Zexion had managed to do was to remove his towel 'clothes' and was currently in the process of feebly crawling away from him. Axel decided to let the baby believe that he was actually progressing in his escape … until he got bored of watching and gently grabbed Zexion by the foot, carefully pulling him back where he started.

"You can't just wander around the castle naked, Zexion," he sniggered. "What would the Superior think, hm?"

Having absolutely no idea what he was doing, Axel laid the towel flat on the floor and placed Zexion on top. He grabbed the ends of the towel, holding the baby's struggling arms down, and tied the ends together. He sat back and took a moment to admire his handy work. Holding his hand to his mouth; the nobody decided that something did not look quite right. The baby's feet were not restricted, so he could crawl away. His arms were – _that's where the problem is_, he laughed to himself. He had become so engrossed in his attempt at clothing Zexion and his struggle with the baby that he had accidentally tied the towel over his arms.

A smirk spread across Axel's face as he envisioned Zexion crawling away from him, the same way as a caterpillar would, and falling flat on his face. He really would have to stop laughing at other people's expense. It was just too much of an addiction to give up though. He got a thrill whenever any of the others would make a mistake. He never let Vexen forget that time he turned into a squirrel. Axel recalled the exact date: November 9th. He had officially dubbed that day "Squirrel Day". He would write it on every calendar in red ink and as soon as October 28th arrived, he began to count down the days. Each year, Axel would give Vexen a small gift as a remembrance of that wonderful time. Last year's gift was a real squirrel, trapped inside a golden cage, with a plate around its neck, which read: I am Vexen.

An angry cry broke Axel from his reverie. He looked down and smirked once more before loosening the knots, pulling Zexion's arms free and retying the knots.

"There," Axel sneered. "No need to throw a hissy fit, Zexion. Such behaviour is not befitting of a member of Organisation XIII … especially the enigmatic Cloaked Schemer."

Throughout his taunts, Axel did wonder, briefly, whether Zexion could understand what was being said. He highly doubted it but the thought was constantly creeping around inside his head. The last thing he needed was an angry Zexion after his blood. It was possibly worse than a woman scorned, and after living with Larxene for so long, he had had his fair share of … not so nice things happen to him from her hands – and knives. _How can one woman's punch hurt so much?_ he wondered, slightly amazed still.

Axel gathered Zexion in his arms and stood up, walking to the sofa before heavily throwing himself down. "Now… what shall we do then?" he pondered, absently sitting Zexion on his knee and bouncing him softly. He looked around. He knew that he would be able to occupy himself fully … just the thought of Zexion as a baby made him inwardly (and outwardly) smirk, however, he knew it was only a matter of time before Zexion decided that Axel was not entertainment enough. _Just who is supposed to entertaining who here?_

He sighed softly and let a smirk cross his face when Zexion let out a slight cry. It reminded him of when a dog was sprawled in front of the fire and could hear someone they were unfamiliar with; however, they were just too comfortable to actually lift their head and bark. The sound usually resulted in a feeble yelp that needed no explanation into how meagre it really was.

Another cry, slightly louder than the last one, was emitted from Zexion's mouth, followed by a series of soft kicks. This caused Axel to laugh at Zexion. Such behaviour was not befitting, as he had stated earlier, however, said behaviour was amusing. If Zexion could cry as long as he could speak … it would be a long night.

Obviously unamused by Axel's laugher, Zexion released a shrill cry. Tears rolled down his face as he tightly closed his eyes, stamping his legs against Axel and throwing his arms around left and right.

The smirk on Axel's face was wiped off immediately once Zexion began to cry. It was not like the soft murmurs that he had heard the baby emit prior. Those soft cries ended after a few short seconds but this – this was nothing that Axel had ever witnessed before. The shrieking did not stop after a moment. If anything, the noise progressed and became worse.

"H-Hey now," Axel said, uncertain of how and why the situation had suddenly wondered into uncharted territory. He sat up, ridged with alarm, watching as Zexion struggled against him. He pulled the baby close to him, however, the struggled caused there to be slight distance between them. He was, to be honest, half considering leaving the baby on the sofa to cry his problems away. That would solve his problems and save his ear drums, which were certain to bleed with this noise. The crimson-haired nobody shook his head. _I promised Roxas_, he remembered. If there was one thing he would not do was break a promise to the youngest member of Organisation XIII.

Axel cringed at the shrill cries and stood up. He decided to hold the baby close to him in hopes of calming him down and putting an end to the tears. This notion seemed like it was nothing more than an unattainable dream as his attempts did nothing for the baby. He was at a loss of what to do. Everything he had seen on the television was not working. He had tried holding Zexion close to him – nothing. Walking around the room – nothing. He was certain that he had tried talking softly to Zexion, though he could not remember as the strident cries was causing his brain to melt-down.

"Erm… Oh look!" he said suddenly. "It's a television guide – you like books."

He swiftly grabbed the flimsy magazine and opened it to the current date. "Ok … well we have a lot on today – Barney the Dinosaur, some film that, from the title, seems very boring, a documentary – yeah, me too…" he sighed, throwing the magazine over his shoulder.

So far, Axel had accomplished the task of causing Zexion to cry even more. He was actually rather surprised that none of the other members had come to see what the entire ruckus was all about. If the sounds that came from Zexion were causing his ears to bleed, surely the others must be beating their heads against the walls in hopes that the sounds would disappear soon.

"Please don't cry, Zexion," Axel pleaded, holding the baby at arm's length. Was he being punished for something he had not done? It was the only logical explanation he could create. Why else would he be cursed with this … _and where the hell is Roxas!_ Why was the younger nobody not back yet? How long did it take to pick up things for a baby?

-

Roxas bit the inside of his lip as he looked to the left and again to the right. He just couldn't stand this anymore. He had been looking at the same thing for the past ten minutes but the answer just would not come to him. Black top … or white top. Both were exactly the same but he just could not decide between the two. He knew that as a member of Organisation XIII, everyone wore black; however, Castle Oblivion was white. Both colours were suitable in his opinion. He sighed as he grabbed both the tops and stormed over to where Demyx was.

"Demyx … I can't decide which one would look best on Zexion. Black," he said, holding the black top for the blond to see. "Or the white," he concluded, holding the white top.

Demyx stood up and looked carefully at both the articles of clothing. No wonder Roxas was unable to decide. Both tops were perfect, especially the emblem on the top, which coincidently resembled the emblem Organisation XIII, was renowned for.

Demyx nodded his head and smiled widely at Roxas. "Why not get both?" he exclaimed, gleefully.

Roxas pondered this for a moment. "Get them both?" he said slowly. "Get … them both?"

Demyx watched, the smile still plastered on his face. He was glad that Roxas had brought him to go shopping for Zexion. It was so much fun to play with all the toys that he believed the baby would like. At first, both nobodies were a little intimidated by the looks they received from other customers, however, after five minutes of looking at baby things, Roxas and Demyx overlooked this and grabbed a trolly, throwing things in it at random.

"Okay," Roxas said, a small smile creeping onto his face. "Both it is." He threw both the top into the trolly and walked away, muttering to himself. "Now which pants would go with the tops…"

-

Axel looked around him quickly, picking up whatever the nearest object was and handing it to Zexion, only to have said object thrown in his face as the baby cried harder. He was at a loss of what to do. This was not the way he had expected to handle this situation. He had expected to laugh at Zexion's misery until he changed back into … well … Zexion. He had certainly not expected to be frantically running around, attempting to calm the baby down.

_Roxas better be bloody grateful_, he scoffed. In one last attempt, Axel decided to try and distract Zexion from his distraught mood. He only hoped this would work and he would never have to deal with a tantrum this big ever again.

"Zexion, look!" he said, pointing at a large plant in the corner of the room. Axel momentarily eyed the plant: strong stem, lush green leaves and abundant, beautiful blossoms. He moved Zexion so that he was able to hold the baby in one arm. Once Zexion's attention was on him fleetingly, albeit still crying, he raised his hand a produced a small flurry of flames. He glanced at the plant with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. When Zexion was looking at the flame, he knelt down and laid his hand flat in front of the blossoming plant. Axel grinned; revealing a row of pearly teeth, as he softly blew the flame, watching excitedly as the flames licked the plant and began to creep their way upwards.

Axel heaved a sigh as he inhaled the scent of burning flora and listened to the hissing and crackling of the flames. It was music to his ears. "See, Zexion," he said suddenly, holding the baby close to the flames. "It's the burning plant…"

If Axel had believed his fire display would cause Zexion to laugh and throw his tiny arms around his neck, then the Flurry of Dancing Flames was sadly mistaken. If anything, the display had the adverse effect on the baby. He struggled even more, nearly falling from Axel's arms, and released a harsh cry.

Axel blinked as he brought Zexion to face him. "What's up now? Don't cry … please…"

He was at a loss. He had genuinely believed that his fire show would entertain Zexion, as it would him. He shook his head. If he could not make the child stop crying this time then there really was no point. Maybe if he left Zexion, the baby would tire himself out and stop crying.

"Axel!"

The crimson-haired nobody turned to the direction of the deep voice and widened his eyes. He was uncertain which nobody to take more notice of: the tall, pale-haired nobody, also known as his Superior, or the mauve-haired nobody with a strangely murderous glint in his eyes. He felt the baby in his arms struggle more fiercely than before, trying desperately to escape. He decided to place the baby on the floor – someone else could take care of this problem.

"What is the meaning of this entire ruckus?" said a deep, smooth voice, easily recognised as belonging to Xemnas.

Axel scratched the back of his head and laughed sheepishly. Zexion still had not stopped crying, however, he had quietened down at little, looking curiously at the new people who had entered the room.

"Well … something came up and … well you see-"

"There had better be a good explanation as to why you have desecrated my belongings, you half-brained imbecile," Marluxia interrupted in a low, growling voice. He strode towards Axel, eyes narrowed, weapon already in hand.

Axel crossed his arms and smirked. "Oh this," he said, using his hand to indicate the burning plant. "I thought I would add a bit of colour to it … it lacked the bright shade of orange and red."

"A sharp tongue is no indication to a keen mind," the Graceful Assassin pointed out.

"Oh my," Axel laughed. "Sounds like somebody woke up on the wrong side of the cage this morning."

Xemnas watched, unamused, as the Flurry of Dancing Flames and the Graceful Assassin threw insult after insult at each other, all the while leaving the plant to burn furthermore. He sighed softly; sometimes even he forgot that he, i.e. Xemnas, was Superior inside this castle. The respect that some of the newer members gave was nearing on invisible. He crossed his arms and watched … waiting. Sooner they would realise that they had just disrespected THEIR Superior.

Any moment now…

"It really is ridiculous the way some of the newer members behave," said Saix, who had been standing next to Xemnas the whole time. "I do wonder, Superior, what possessed you to allow some of the riffraff to join the Organisation."

"I wonder that myself, Saix," he sighed.

He let his eyes wander down to the small baby, who was looking Marluxia, before briefly turning his attention to Axel. He arched a fine brow. It was obvious what had occurred here and he would have to have a stern word with Vexen. He did not believe he could handle another "squirrel" incident. There was only so much time he could spend monitoring Axel and Marluxia before they somehow managed to escape his ever watchful eyes.

"Must they constantly blemish the Organisation?" Saix said with a hint of disgust evident in his voice.

Xemnas had seen enough. Both nobodies were doing nothing but throwing insults and pointing weapons at one another. He knew, give another minute, a fight would break out and he did not want that. He walked forward, prepared to draw both his weapons at any moment; however, he did not expect the fight to end as it did.

"Holy, bloody…" Axel growled, bending down and snatching the remote control from the baby. He threw the control at the wall, a satisfied smile crossing his lips as the thing shattered. There was only one thing left to take care of. He raised his chakram and charged forward, only to be stopped by a curved cerise blade blocking the path between himself and Zexion.

"Now, this is immature – even for you, Axel," Marluxia mocked.

Axel slowly stood up, reluctantly removing his weapon. He glared at Zexion before storming across the other side of the room and heavily throwing himself down on the sofa, picking up the abandoned television guide.

Marluxia watched Axel walk away and knelt down to Zexion, light-heartedly ruffling his fine hair. "Look at him," he laughed, using his eyes to point in Axel's direction. "He's sulking more than you – who is supposed to be the baby here?"

During the commotion, everyone had failed to see Roxas and Demyx step out of a clouded portal, arms full of boxes and bags. They carefully placed the items on the floor. Demyx smiled as he began to unpack one of the bags, which contained various toys. He kept four toys in his arms and walked over to where Zexion was. He threw himself on the floor and passed the toys to the baby, watching as he took the squeaky hammer and placed it in his mouth.

"Well, it looks like Zexion likes his toys," he smiled. They had picked up various things that they believed Zexion would like, which included several books, many cuddly toys and different things that made funny noises. The toy that Demyx had insisted on getting was an animal set that made noises. Seeing the baby playing with the toys, Demyx knew that he and Roxas had made the correct decision.

A loud cough caused all the others to look up. Xemnas stood, arms crossed, looking less than impressed. "Now," he said slowly. "Could somebody please explain what is going on here?"

Xemnas waited for an answer, hoping that the others would immediately drop everything to answer his demand. Perhaps he had not used his demanding voice? He really would need to put more thought and consideration into his speech.

He coughed again. "Maybe I did not make myself clear the first time. I demand an explanation as to what is going on here."

He smiled. That was better.

Roxas looked up from his position on the sofa. He had seen Axel sprawled on the sofa and tried to get a response from the nobody, however, the redhead was giving everyone the silent treatment. When he saw that nobody was going to answer the superior he decided that it must be his job.

"I'm not too certain myself, Superior, but I'm almost one hundred percent convinced that it has something to do with Vexen. You would have to clear that up with Marluxia though because he was there when it happened (I think)," he said.

Xemnas nodded his head, understanding. He looked around for the mauve-haired man, only seeing his back as he stood over the burning plant with a watering can in hand. If there was one thing Xemnas knew, it was that the chances of getting respect of Marluxia were virtually impossible.

"XI, care to explain?" he said, staring at the other's back.

Marluxia waited until all the flames had been put out before putting the watering can on the table. He bent down, carefully taking the charred plant in his hands, gently caressing the delicate leaves. A smile slowly crept on his face as the darkened leaves changed colour to a deep, healthy green, small flowers opening up, which gave off a sweet smell. Once he was fully satisfied that the plant was at full health, Marluxia answered Xemnas' question, though refusing to turn his attention away from the plant.

"IV created some sort of potion that turned Zexion here into the crying, little ball of baby that you see. IV hasn't been back since."

"So it's true then," Xemnas said. He took a moment to think about what was required. Despite everything that had happened so far, this was a very serious situation. A baby desired a lot of attention also love; however, the latter would have to be avoided, as nobodies were incapable of love. He stole a quick glance to Demyx, who was playing on the floor with Zexion, and shook his head when he finally saw all the bags on the floor. _How had they managed to get all of that back to the castle with just the two of them?_ he wondered, amazed. A soft sigh escaped his lips, at least Zexion had things that all babies would need. The main question, however, was who would be the one to look after Zexion. Obliviously whoever it was would be exempt from all missions, as this would be a fulltime job in itself.

Roxas heaved a sigh, he had had enough of Axel's childish behaviour and pushed himself from the sofa, walking over to where Demyx way playing with Zexion. Slowly, he lowered himself to the ground and picked up one of the rattles that he had chosen. He wondered, looking at the bags, whether they had gone a little over board. They had originally wanted to get only a few things, however, they soon realised that different children had different preferences in toys. They decided that, instead of risking getting Zexion something he would not like, they got him everything. The shop clerks were delighted when the young nobodies came to the checkout and were able to pay the full amount.

He looked at the rattle, which resembled a multicoloured flower with a large smile in the centre, and shook it slowly, listening to the beads rattle inside. The sound, though strangely pleasant at first, would easily get on everyone's nerves – perhaps he had made a mistake in picking something that made such a noise? A small sound caught his attention and he looked up to see Zexion sitting in front of him, holding his hand out. Roxas blinked for a second before realising that the baby wanted the rattle that he was holding.

"Here you go, Zexion," he smiled, handing the rattle over to the baby. The baby began to frantically shake the rattle, laughing at the noise. This was happiest that Roxas had ever seen the schemer. Maybe what Vexen had messed up on had not been such a mistake after all. Everyone was entitled to a little bit of happiness, even if it was fake. He, himself, felt a smile creep onto his face when he saw Zexion playing with the toys. Maybe it was because this was all new to him and he was experimenting with his non-existence still. Whatever it was, he would play it by ear, living each day by day.

He continued to watch Zexion, seeing the baby put the rattle in his mouth and crawling, occasionally falling, over to the other side of the room. Roxas wondered what the baby was doing, whether there was any actually reasoning behind his behaviour. When Zexion stopped crawling, he took the rattle from his mouth and began to shake it once more. Roxas sniggered. Zexion was a strange baby. It was only when Roxas looked up a little that he noticed Marluxia was standing within close proximity, back to Zexion, watering the plant that Axel had set a light. He personally thought that the plant looked as good as before, the leaves were green and the small flowers were fully bloomed. Marluxia, on the other hand, must have assumed that there was still a fault with the plant, which explained why he was still concentrating and tending to the shrub.

Zexion shook the rattle harder, hitting it on the floor a few times before stopping to look up at Marluxia. The older man continued to ignore the baby, possibly too engrossed in his task that he just failed to hear the various attempts used to gain his attention. Zexion hit the rattle on the floor once more before stopping and letting out a feeble cry. It was only due to Demyx's loud announcement that Marluxia turned around, not noticing Zexion near his feet and almost falling over said baby. Luckily, Marluxia had more grace and balance and used the table as support to stop himself from falling. It would not do well to fall in front of all these people. Roxas was renowned for his clumsiness, not him.

Marluxia looked down and saw Zexion holding a rattle up, shaking it a few times. The mauve-haired nobody stared at the baby. What was he supposed to do, congratulate Zexion for holding a rattle?

"See, I told you he wanted your attention," Demyx said loudly, grinning ear from ear.

Marluxia waited. He was looking at Zexion but now what? What did the baby want?

As if sense Marluxia's confusion, Zexion held the rattle higher, squealing, "Ma!"

Roxas watched the whole ordeal as the cogs inside his head began to turn. "That's what it meant!" he exclaimed. The others looked at him, confusion clearly written inside their eyes. "Zexion was saying 'ma' all the while he was with me. I didn't have a clue what it meant but now, I believe, it was his way of saying that he wanted Marluxia."

Marluxia crossed his arms and arched a brow, the expression of unbelief clearly evident on his face. Roxas had obviously been eating one too many Sea-Salt ice-creams, Marluxia decided. The baby shouted "Ma" again and Marluxia decided to see whether anything that Roxas had said was true. He did not care, nor de he believe it, however, the curious side to his brain was shouting at him. Slowly, he crouched down and watched Zexion. The slate-haired child shook the rattle, his hand still in the air. _It's almost as if_- Marluxia cut his train of thought off as he held out his hand and watched as Zexion dropped the rattle in it, smiling and laughing. It was hard to believe that only minutes prior the baby had been in the middle of a full on temper tantrum. Babies really were strange creatures.

"See," Roxas stated. "Ma must equal Marluxia – or something along those lines."

XI stared at the rattle. "Erm … thank you?" he said in an uncertain tone. What was one supposed to do when a baby handed them a toy? This really was all too confusing…

Xemnas, unknown to almost everyone, had been carefully watching the ordeal. He had even heard Axel sulking on the sofa when Roxas had stated that Zexion had wanted Marluxia. "Oh, so he'll give Marluxia things but he throws things at me," Axel mumbled to himself, not tearing his attention from the article he was 'reading'. Axel's behaviour was almost laughable as he was acting more like a child than Zexion. It was almost as if the prospect of Zexion not liking him, or maybe it was the prospect of having another preferring Marluxia over him, offended him. What a laughable notion. Nevertheless, Xemnas had watched the scene and decided that now was the time to decide who would cater for the child's needs.

"Everybody," he said suddenly, looking at each member to make sure they acknowledged him. "We need to decide who will be the one to care for Zexion. Whoever is chosen will have the baby stay with them and all their current missions will be put on hold."

The Superior observed the expression that each member displayed. Demyx looked positively enthralled with the idea. Roxas remained emotionless. Marluxia continued to look at the rattle, holding it up and examining each angle. Xemnas sighed; Marluxia had obviously not listened to him – yet again. Axel muttered under his breath and arched a brow. Finally, Saix remained as passive as always.

"I will not make the decision," he stated. This caused everyone to look at him, even Marluxia. Maybe he does listen after all, Xemnas sniggered to himself. This would be interesting. "Everyone will sit in a circle and Zexion will decide who his carer will be. Whomever HE decides – the decision is final. If Zexion picks me – I shall care for him. If Zexion chooses Axel – Axel shall watch him. If Zexion should pick Marluxia – Marluxia will be the one to cater for him, and so fourth. This will be as fair as possible."

Saix turned to his Superior, his expression neutral but there was a hint of something in his eyes. "But, Sir-"

"Even you, Saix," Xemnas exclaimed. "It would be unfair if you were exempt. If Zexion chooses you – you will look after him."

Saix widened his eyes. "But-"

"You are a member of this organisation and will be treated as the others, Saix. My word is final."

Saix looked almost appalled at what had just occurred. He knew the likelihood of being chosen to care for Zexion was slim; however, luck was not on his side today. He had woken up and taken a shower – slipped on the soap. He looked for his towel – couldn't find it. He went to put his coat on – the zipper broke. Attempted to make himself a drink – all the milk had been used. Went to read his magazine – someone had used the pages to make a paper chain. So far he believed he was cursed. The last thing he needed was to be told that he would have to look after a baby. He did not like children. He hadn't the patience for them.

"Everyone will sit in a circle and Zexion will be in the middle – whoever he crawls to is the one to look after him," the Superior said in a deep voice, being the first to take a seat on the floor. He watched as the others followed his lead, however some not as enthused as others.

Saix swallowed and crossed his fingers and toes, also mentally crossing them too, as he sat down.

Axel grumbled as he pushed himself from his comfy seat and threw himself heavily on the floor, making it perfectly clear how annoyed he was.

Demyx smiled as he looked around. He was already seated on the floor, so he scooted back a few paces, smiling continually.

Roxas stood up and walked slowly to where he decided to sit. When he arrived at his destination, between Axel and where he assumed Marluxia was going to sit, Roxas lowered himself to the ground, sitting cross-legged.

Marluxia, seeing as no else had even bothered, picked Zexion up and placed him in the centre of the circle, handing the rattle back to the baby. He decided to take his time in walking to his spot and voiced a question. "So if Zexion chooses, let's say Saix, he has no choice but to accept?" he asked, turning and swiftly sitting on the ground.

"That is correct," Xemnas answered.

Marluxia nodded his head, a small smile crossing his lips. _This certainly would be interesting_, he decided. He looked around, seeing all the other in the same situation as him. Xemnas has told Zexion to choose a person but he, to be honest, believed that the baby had no idea what the Superior was talking about. The baby just looked around, wary, as everyone stared at him. Nearly everyone gasped when Zexion began to move at a steady pace. It would seem that the baby had made his decision as to which member of the organisation would be his new carer.

Saix stared, horrified, as Zexion crawled over to him. "Get away from me!" he yelled, moving back a few feet in hopes that the baby would not follow. However, said baby continued to crawl to the Lunar Diviner, smiling and giggling as he sat and stared at the older nobody. Saix swallowed. How could this be?

Almost as quick as lightening, Marluxia stood up and rushed over to where Saix and Zexion where. He picked up the baby and thrust him forward, watching as Saix continued to watch horrified.

"Looks like Zexion wants you now, Saix," he sneered, small smile on his face. He slowly handed Zexion over to Saix, placing the baby in his arms. He inwardly laughed. Never in his non-existence had he seen Saix so scared.

Saix looked around frantically, seeing the looks of disbelief cross everyone's face. Axel, it would seem, had cheered up, as a smirk was planted across his face. _What I wouldn't give to wipe that smirk off_, Saix growled.

Xemnas took this opportunity to stand up, carefully take Zexion from Saix's shaking arms, and handing the baby back to Marluxia. "It would seem," he said slowly, "that this was not a fair decision - was it Marluxia?" he said, looking darkly at the Graceful Assassin. He did not give XI the chance to respond and decided that he would inform the others of his decision and his earlier ideas. "The dancing flower behind Saix was a dirty trick," he said, hearing the loud laugher of Axel. "Zexion will stay with you, Marluxia. This is what I had decided before … my mind is made."

Marluxia shook his head, holding Zexion in front of Xemnas. "This is not fair," he exclaimed loudly. "Vexen is at fault – he should be forced to watch this thing."

Xemnas nodded slowly, crossing his arms. "While I do agree that Vexen is possibly to blame for this situation … I also believe that it is for the best that Zexion stays with you. This was my initial decision and nothing was going to change it. As I said before: the decision is final!"

The mauve-haired nobody drew his arms back, holding Zexion closer to him. He narrowed his cobalt eyes, ire darkening his cheeks. He stared hard at the Superior, almost hoping that his glare would cause the man to change his decision. He was fully aware that Xemnas was the Superior but he would never truly respect the man … especially after this heinous crime!

Marluxia sighed softly and stole a quick glance to Zexion, who was happily pulling the strands of mauve hair, shouting "Ma" with each tug. The Graceful Assassin wasted no time in creating a dark cloud and stepping through it, cursing as he left, making it obvious of his detest for the decision.

Xemnas shook his head. He swore than nearly everyone in the organisation had a slight attitude problem. "Calm yourself, Saix," he said in a firm voice. "I had no intention of sending Zexion with anyone other than Marluxia."

The azure-haired man stood up and took a deep breath, composing himself, trying to forget his little display earlier. "Then why give Zexion the decision if you had no intentions of falling through?" he asked, his voice once again calm.

Xemnas laughed softly. "Once I saw how Zexion reacted around Marluxia I knew that my decision was right. However, I felt it would be best to lead XI into a false sense of security … to distract him from the main objective."

"But why XI, Superior?" Saix asked, curious.

Xemnas shook his head, turning to create a portal. "I have my reasons, Saix," he said, walking into the darkness.

-

TO BE CONTINUED

NEXT CHAPTER: DAY TWO - PART ONE

-

AN:

Okay, I apologies for the time taken for me to upload this chapter. I was late for many reasons (A) I was forced to work ALL weekend - so no writing done there (B) This happens to be the longest chapter yet, and still I had to cut things from it and (C) I struggled to write Axel because, quite frankly, I don't like him. Hate me all you like because it will not change anything ... I just don't like him. I find it strange because I love Reno and Axel is like the Kingdom Hearts version. Maybe it was because of him that poor Zexion didn't even make it into Kingdom Hearts II - even Marluxia made more of an appearance in the opening credits. I love Marluxia in CGI swoons. Anywho ... I hope I haven't done too bad a job with Axel. I like to believe that ... well at least I haven't bashed him like a lot of authors do. You know ... "I don't like so-and-so so I'm gonna bash them to be funny"

Yeah. I said before that I had to cut several sections from this chap. I was originally going to have Vexen make an appearance and explain what was going on ... but I'll leave that till the next chapter. I also cut small things, like feeding Zexion. He does get fed, but we just don't see it. Besides, I have something along those lines in store for Day Two.

Right. I decided to make Xemnas and Saix appear in this chap ... despite Saix not actually doing much. To be honest I'm not too sure what his personality is like. When I played KH2 I think it must have just ignored Saix because he didn't interest me. Sorry if I bash him. Xemnas ... I think I've done okay with his character - he's cool, over dramatic, but cool. I could also see him leading the others into a false sense of security ... he IS the Superior for a reason.

Lastly, thank you all for the reviews ... they are greatly appreciated. I think someone mentioned that incentive was - it's motivation/reasoning. So reading all your reviews gives me to incentive to write. Plus I love this fic - I can see it being long. Consider this ... I'm just finishing Day One and I can guarantee that there will be at least 16 more days. My god, what have I started? Lol.

Thank you and hope you enjoy.

-Bexii


	5. Day One Evening 1 Day Two Morning

17 DAYS OF HELL

A Kingdom Hearts fanfiction

Kingdom Hearts is property of Square Enix and Disney

This fanfiction is purely for entertainment – please do not get offended

Enjoy…

-- DAY TWO –-

1 – 2 Years Old

Marluxia groaned as he buried his head under the plump pillow, forcibly closing his eyes and trying desperately to ignore the cries coming from Zexion. It had been less than one hour since he had put the baby down to sleep. He had been quiet for that time, whether he was sleeping, Marluxia did not know.

"What does he want?" Marluxia groaned

After he had departed, when Xemnas had informed Marluxia that Zexion was now his duty, it took the mauve-haired man less than ten minutes for him to realise that he did not know what he was doing. He promptly transported himself to the common room, where, luckily, Xemnas was not. Marluxia was not certain whether he would be able to bite his tongue around the nobody much longer. The only residents inside the room were Roxas, Axel and Demyx. The Melodious Nocturne was happy that Zexion was back – he could play with the toys without the strange glances from Roxas. Marluxia threw himself onto the chair furthest from everyone, sitting in silence for twenty minutes, before, begrudgingly, admitting that he had no idea what he was supposed to do with Zexion. There was just too much to do for the child. How was he supposed to cater for every need that Zexion had? _It's impossible_, he decided.

After another ten minutes of convincing himself that he was in fact correct and that the best solution would be to donate Zexion to some charity, Roxas provided him with the assistance he needed. The youngest member of the organisation handed a book to Marluxia, who stared blankly at the rectangular object.

"It's a book," Roxas stated, obviously.

If looks could kill, Roxas would be nothing but a colourful smear on the wall. Marluxia stood up and slowly edged closer to Roxas. The blond looked up at the older man, seeing a small smile crease his face. Roxas stared, wide-eyed. He recognised that smile.

"I know what a book is, idiot!" Marluxia snarled, whacking Roxas on the head with the book he was holding.

Roxas rubbed his head. He really needed to start thinking about his words before he spoke, as some members were more temperamental than others._ Still_, he grumbled, _that's no excuse to go psycho with a book_. Who knew books could cause so much pain? It reminded him of the time he witnessed Zexion wielding his power when Axel had intelligently decided that it was too cold in the vast castle and the best material to burn was paper – or a large selection of books. How was Axel supposed to know that the leather-bound books were rare and collectable?

Needless to say, Axel did not make that same mistake twice.

"I don't need a book, XIII. What I need is for someone to take him," he said, pointing at Zexion, who was currently engrossed in a game of peek-a-boo with Demyx, "far away from me."

A laugh echoed around the room.

"You should be flattered that Xemnas gave you such an important assignment," Axel sniggered, lounging upside down on the sofa.

Marluxia chose to ignore the annoying nobody. "Maybe I can tie a bow around his head and give Zexion to Xemnas as a belated something-or-other present…" he said, possibly more to himself.

After the exchange of words and Marluxia's reluctance to have any further contact with Zexion, Roxas took it upon himself to help educate and guide the older nobody, as well as teaching himself a thing or two in the process. He had taken the time to look at the book … or rather Demyx had started looking at the pictures and decided to share them with Roxas. It did make him wonder why the nice woman at the baby shop had decided to throw in the book, free of charge of course. He had always assumed that the objective of a shop was to sell their products not give them away. Nevertheless, he was grateful for the book. Organisation XIII needed all the help they could muster in regards to babies.

So, with the help of the book, Roxas was able to change, feed and clothe Zexion. It was only when the blond boy went to get Zexion dressed that he realised that he may have made a tiny mistake when shopping. Next time, he decided, he would look at sizes before throwing clothes into the trolly. How was he supposed to know how old Zexion was? All babies looked the same in Roxas' eyes. He sighed, looking down sadly as he folded the white and black tops that he wasted ten minutes mentally arguing over. Perhaps there was a chance that Zexion would stay a baby long enough to grow into the clothes? The selfish side of Roxas was mentally screaming for Zexion to remain a baby and that, unless he finally got the chance to wear the clothes specially selected by Roxas, the blond-haired nobody would never speak to Zexion ever again. At first, Roxas wondered whether this was adequate punishment, however, he soon realised that he was one of the saner members of the organisation and that Zexion would crumble without 'normal' contact.

Throughout the troublesome task of catering to Zexion's every need, Roxas did notice that Marluxia, albeit clandestinely, was taking note of everything that occurred. He also noticed that after Marluxia announced his departure, not quickly enough to escape the watchful eyes of a baby who assumed he was to be left behind, the book had disappeared too.

"Roxas, play a game of snap with me," Demyx yelled, holding up a card with a brightly coloured pig on it. "Axel keeps on burning the cards whenever he calls 'snap'!"

With Zexion now quiet, Marluxia was able to concentrate and hear his thoughts once again. He sat on a comfortable chair in his room and slowly opened the book that Roxas had acquired. He was determined to fully complete this assignment, not wanting to give Xemnas the satisfaction of knowing that this was something Marluxia could not achieve. Never in his time with the organisation had he failed a mission, even those that were hardly worth his time. He would complete them out of spite, just to prove his competence. This assignment was no different.

Every so often Zexion would stir in his arms, growing bored of toy he was chewing on, and find some other way to occupy his time. Marluxia had soon come to realise that whenever Zexion would lightly tug his hair, the baby wanted something. Needless to say, this attention seeking tendency was grating Marluxia's nerves more and more. _Perhaps that is why he does it_, he wondered, looking down at Zexion, who smiled in return.

Stifling a yawn, Marluxia threw the book onto the desk and stood up. _Zexion is not the only one in the castle who can read a book and commit it to memory_, he sneered, walking over to the bed. He had made sure that he remembered everything he read, it wouldn't do to go uneducated on the subject, where he could easily be caught off guard.

"Just where are you supposed to sleep anyway?" Marluxia said, looking around his room when he realised that this crib he had read about was nowhere to be seen. Roxas and Demyx had obviously not thought about everything when they went on their shopping spree. He sighed softly and watched as thick vines slowly crept around and began to entwine together, forming the shape of a crib that hung delicately from the ceiling. _It is not perfect, but it will do_, he decided, throwing a pillow into the bottom and slowly placing Zexion inside. He looked around, seeing the white towel discarded on the floor, and picked it up, covering Zexion with it.

The mauve-haired nobody ran his hands through his hair as he practically fell onto his bed. Day one was officially over…

Day two, however, began within the hour and Marluxia was still in the difficult process of ignoring Zexion. It was difficult due to the sound penetrating the pillow Marluxia was using to shield his head. He had tried everything to make the sound go away. He had tried counting heartless, which did not cause him to fall asleep. Whoever had thought of that process deserved to be maimed by his scythe. He had tried to imagine himself in a happy place where he could dance on Xemnas' grave until the sun fell from the sky … that did not help either. Nothing worked. It was impossible. He might as well be turned into a Dusk there and then – that way he would not have to deal with the constant noise.

He abruptly threw the covers off himself and glared at Zexion, who was standing in the crib, crying his eyes out. _Does he do anything other than cry? _Marluxia wondered, picking the baby up and transporting them to the kitchen. He was not prepared to deal with Larxene, who could be extremely moody when woken in the night. Likewise, Luxord was a surprising grouch when woken too.

At this particular moment, Marluxia was not suicidal.

He began to pace up and down the kitchen, hoping to soothe the baby's crying. Alas, it did not; however, Marluxia did notice something as he looked down at Zexion. "Either I am going insane, which I highly doubt," he said. "Or you are growing at an alarming pace."

He held Zexion up higher, which caused to baby to look curiously at the mauve-haired man, and observed the clothes worn. He had not imagined it. The clothes were obviously too tight, as the sleeves were halfway up his arms, likewise with the legs. _Think, Marluxia_, he said to himself, _were the clothes too tight last night?_ The memory flitted across his mind as he recalled sitting in the corner, secretly observing Roxas and Demyx taking a keen interest in what Zexion was to wear. For some reason Roxas was not satisfied with the end result and sulked for a matter of ten seconds.

Marluxia walked into the other room in search of clothes that would fit and placed Zexion on the floor. The baby immediately picked up the flower rattle, which lay abandoned on the floor, and put it in his mouth. He alternated between chewing on the flower and shaking it before throwing it across the room. He sniffled and looked around the room, seeing Marluxia with his back turned, holding up two tops. He rapidly began to crawl, without falling now, over to the other.

"Choose one," Marluxia said, holding a black and white top in front of Zexion.

Zexion looked up at Marluxia and crawled forward. He slowly grabbed a firm hold on the sofa and began to steadily pull himself up, using the piece of furniture as support. He waited a short moment before shuffling to the side, getting closer to Marluxia, who was perched on the edge of the chair.

"Well?" he prompted.

Marluxia watched, a slight smile on his face, as Zexion snatched the white top, falling to the floor once his hands were removed from the sofa. The older man sniggered at the situation, grabbing the matching pants and kneeling on the floor next to the baby. _Okay, I can dress a mere child_, he said to himself, shaking his head slightly as he tried to take Zexion's top off without breaking the baby's arms.

As it would seem, undressing a baby was a lot more difficult that it would have originally appeared, however, Marluxia had managed to take the top off, getting Zexion's head stuck in the process, and was now undertaking the not-so-simple task of putting the larger clothes on.

"How can I put these on if you keep on taking them off?" Marluxia said, a note of irritation crept into his voice.

Every time Marluxia managed to put the top over Zexion's head, the baby would throw his hands up and take a hold of the man's hands, moving them away from him. This sequence continued a few times until Marluxia grabbed a gentle hold of the hand that swatted his and guided it through the arm-hole of the top. A smile of triumph crossed his face as he achieved this and, using the same tactic, managed to guide the other arm through too.

"I do believe that I just out witted the ingenious Cloaked Schemer," Marluxia sneered, singing his own praise, as he pushed the baby onto his back so he could change his bottoms.

"Ma," Zexion babbled.

Marluxia arched a brow. Perhaps he was reading too much into the expressions of the baby, but he could have sworn that Zexion had just pouted.

He shook his head. "If 'Ma' is to represent my name then I would appreciate it if you said the correct name – Marluxia," he said, pulling off Zexion's pants and replacing them with the matching ones.

"Ma," Zexion replied, clasping his hands together and looking up at Marluxia.

"No – Marluxia. _Marluxia_," he emphasised, pulling Zexion into a sitting position.

"Ma…"

"Mar-lux-ia," he said, breaking it down and repeating it at a slower pace.

Zexion stared at the mauve-haired nobody, looking as if he was listening to what he was saying. "Ma … ru…"

Marluxia blinked. "What the – no!"

"Maru," Zexion smiled, giggling and clasping his hands together.

Marluxia exhaled a deep breathe. "No, say it after me – Mar-lux-ia. Marluxia."

"Maru!"

"Marluxia!"

"Maru!"

Marluxia groaned, rubbing his face with his hands. He was not prepared to have an endless argument with a baby; especially with the likes of Zexion. He had had the misfortune of getting into an argument with VI once before and had never realised that one nobody could argue for so long. It was an experience he did not wish to repeat; as Zexion managed to twist the argument around so much that the original topic was long forgotten. Marluxia left for the sake of his sanity.

"This certainly is a cruel and twisted irony of fate," he complained, picking Zexion up and walking into the kitchen.

"Maru!" Zexion squealed, yanking several clumps of Marluxia's hair.

"For the last time, it's Marluxia," he grumbled, shaking his head and placing Zexion on the floor. I_ am not prepared to lower myself to your level that I shout about how much I hate you at this particular moment_, the older nobody thought, looking around the kitchen until he found what it was he sought. Five minutes of his non-existence he had wasted looking for cup, only to find it sited near the fridge. It was typical; however, he was not going to let it get to him. He took the lid off the cup, filled it with milk from the fridge, and placed the lid back on.

"Just shut up and drink your milk," Marluxia said, handing the cup to Zexion, obviously unaware of how immature he sounded.

Marluxia padded across the room and pulled a chair out, not caring who was supposed to sit there, and sat down. He ran his hands through his hair and sighed. This assignment was becoming increasingly bothersome and he decided that Zexion would be spending the night in his own room, as Marluxia did not wish for a repeat performance of what happened previously. _Then again_, he told himself, _from looks of things Zexion is aging rapidly. I know for certain that those clothes were the correct size last night and ones he is wearing now are for a one year old._ He hoped that this would go in favour of his assignment; nevertheless, he would have to discuss this with Xemnas. He assumed he would also have to speak with Vexen; however, he would rather throw something at IV's head instead – preferably the sharp end of his scythe – for the problem he has caused.

He stole a quick glance to the ivory clock that was mounted on the wall. Seven o'clock in the morning. Where had the time gone? He was certain that the last time he had looked at a clock it was three o'clock. Marluxia shrugged his shoulders. The others would be making their way down to the kitchen soon, pestering whoever had the unfortunate job of making breakfast and demanding various different dishes. If there was one job that he disliked above all it was cooking. He hated to admit it, but he just was not a natural born chef. Tending to a garden and anything botanic related he could complete with his eyes clothes, however, throwing a mixture of everything into a pot of boiling hot water to create a delicious masterpiece was not his forte. Needless to say, after that bout of food poisoning, Xemnas forbade Marluxia from cooking anything ever again.

Marluxia turned his attention to Zexion, as the baby was being strangely quiet. What he saw made him snigger slightly. Zexion was pushing himself from the ground and was trying to hold his own weight; however, whenever he got close to standing, he would fall. He certainly gave the baby ten out of ten for trying, due to the fact that whenever he fell down, he would attempt to stand immediately after.

The Graceful Assassin pushed himself from the chair and moved closer to Zexion. He watched the child fall to the ground several times before laughing and taking a hold of Zexion's hands, letting the baby use him as the support he needed to stand. Once he was certain that Zexion was confident standing, he slowly began to move backwards, pulling the baby forward. Zexion squealed as he took small steps forward.

Slowly, Marluxia released his grip on Zexion's hands and continued to move backwards, watching with a small smile as Zexion moved forward.

"See, you can do it," Marluxia said, standing up fully and ruffling Zexion's hair before moving back to his seat. He sat down and watched Zexion, seeing the baby fall down when he turned. "Try again," he told him, a slight authoritarian tone present within his voice.

Marluxia laughed softly as he turned his back to Zexion, leading his elbows on the table. "You'd better be careful," he told the baby. "The last thing we need is for you to get under everyone's feet now."

It was only by the off chance that Marluxia turned at that particular moment, secretly thanking whatever god was looking down on him, and saw a scene that would keep him entertained for years to come. Obviously the nobody that chose that particular moment to walk through the door failed to see Zexion on the floor and tripped over the baby, falling gracelessly to the ground.

"Like so," Marluxia sneered, laughing at the misfortune at the nobody sprawled inelegantly on the ground.

"How many times do I have to tell that brainless idiot, Demyx, not to leave his crap lying around?" snarled an angry Larxene as she pushed herself from the ground, blonde hair falling chaotically around her face. "When I get my hands on that nitwit he'll wish he'd drowned in the bath!"

She pushed herself to her knees, reaching to grab whatever it was she tripped on. "The hell," she said, a slight twinge of shock in her voice, as she came face to face with Zexion.

-

TO BE CONTINUED

NEXT CHAPTER: DAY TWO part 2

-

AN - Okay, this chapter was actually a real pain to write because I completely changed the original. I was half way through when I realised that I was making it too easy for Marluxia. Originally, the chap was going to go straight into breakfast, where Zexion would be introduced to the others. Then I realised that ... as I said ... Marluxia had it easy and it didn't seem realistic to me. I mean, when you have kids you say goodbye to a regular sleeping pattern until they are at least 2 - even then you have nightmares and when they get sick. So I figured that since Marluxia has been forced to take on the parental role, he should have to endure all the hardships that come with it :) Plus, I'm still in the phase of playing with Marluxia's character. I'm trying to keep the characters in character as much as possible. Tell me if they still out so I can alter it.

As for the whole Zexion calling Marluxia Maru … well I really don't like the nickname Marly (likewise with Zexy to be honest) and I figured that Marluxia would be too difficult for someone of Zexion's age to say. My friend's kid struggles to say my name (Becky) so she calls me Betty lol. But, for some strange reason, I actually like the way Marluxia's name is pronounced in Japanese so I decided to take the 1st part of it and make a cute nickname that Zexion calls him. All good fun :)

The reason why this chap is solely Zexion and Marluxia is due to the fact that I don't want to break the chapter of the meeting/breakfast into 2 sections. So this chap was born lol.

So, the next chapter, I can guarantee, ALL the Organisation will be here - it's breakfast time, what do you expect?

Okies ... I just wanna thank everyone who has reviewed this fic. I'm really grateful.

**Doodle-chan** - I put the age at the top of the chapter - so Zexion is 1 - 2 years old in this chapter/day. I'm glad you liked the part with Saix - I seriously cannot picture him as being one to like kids. I'm gonna have to force him to baby-sit Zexion some time. Thanks for the review and hope you enjoyed the fic.

**thegreatwhitewolf** - I'm actually privileged that you are still reading, considering you're not a Marluxia fan and he does play a crucial role in the fic. Thank you. I agree - Axel was positively evil in COM. It's like he's two different people in COM and KH2. Schizophrenic if ya tell me lol.

**Sadistic-Schemer** - I liked the part with Roxas and Demyx getting all the stuff. I mean, how were they to know that Zexion will outgrow it in a matter of days? It'll all go on Xemnas' credit card bill in the end lol. I'm also glad that I'm not the only one who struggles with Axel's character - I think I'm trying to merge COM Axel and KH2 Axel together to form an Axel I like lol.

**Katherine-The-Crowned** - I must be doing something good with Axel's character if so many people like the way he acts in the fic. I'm glad you liked it - thank you soooo much for the review :)

**Crazy Stalker Chick** - I'm so happy that you're enjoying the fic - it's makes me happy when I know that my writing is bringing a little joy to people.

**Susumi** - I could so hug you knowing that I am not the only one who doesn't like Axel. I was beginning to think I was the only one :) I agree that you NEVER want to see Xemnas smiling THAT smile. I think all the Organisation have creepy smiles ('cept Demyx lol) but Xigbar's and Vexen's creep me out the most tho lol. I'm glad you liked the flower parts - they were so fun to write. I have to admit, I love writing Marluxia in these sorts of scenes because he's so clueless when it comes to kids, like the others, but, in my opinion, his pride gets the best of him. Thanks for the reviews, they're always a pleasure to read and in answer to your question - Zexion was wearing just a towel for the whole chap lol. But he now has clothes. Lastly - you were gonna do a pic for my fic?? SQUEE!!

OK, this is the longest AN ever ... but I just wanted to personally than those who reviewed. Also, those who I failed to mention: **LupinandHarry**, **MuffinPirate**, **Xendell**, **Hikari inai kasumi**, **Pride1289**, **Wolfsraingirl148**, **Gehktus Yht Kq Yht Tekesuh** (weirdest penname I've ever seen lol) THANK YOU ALL FOR THE LOVELY REVIEWS. I am eternally happy. I don't usually mention names so this won't be a regular occurance lol.

Right ... hope you enjoyed the chap and the next one will be up soon.

Toodles

-Bexii


	6. Day Two

17 DAYS OF HELL

A Kingdom Hearts fanfiction

Kingdom Hearts is property of Square Enix and Disney

This fanfiction is purely for entertainment – please do not get offended

Enjoy…

-- DAY TWO –-

1 – 2 Years Old

Larxene stared hard at the baby sitting at her feet, who glanced at his fingers before putting them in his mouth. She crawled closer to Zexion and continued to watch him, her blue eyes wider than usual. Slowly, she extended her hand closer to Zexion's face. The baby looked up, fingers still in his mouth, his eyes following every movement of Larxene's hand. When Larxene's hand stopped directly in front of his face, Zexion continued to stare and observe the woman in front of him. He had not known what to expect with this woman, but the least thing he expected was to have said woman press her hands to his face and push him back.

Larxene stood up quickly, ignoring the small cries as Zexion pushed himself back up. Luckily for Zexion, Larxene, in a rare moment of being caught slightly off guard, had not pushed him hard.

"What the hell is going on here?" Larxene asked quickly, crossing her arms as she looked over to Marluxia. "And it better be believable too!"

Marluxia arched a brow. Did it really matter if the reason was believable or not? "Vexen decided that Zexion would make a better baby than he does as a nobody who is capable of verbal communication and who doesn't need to be mollycoddled every fifteen seconds," he told her matter-of-factly.

The blonde woman stole a quick glance at Zexion before turning her attention back to Marluxia. "Why?" she said, emphasising the single word with swift moments of her arms.

Marluxia shrugged his shoulders. He felt the question was not worth a verbal response. How was he supposed to know the inner workings of Vexen's mind? The latest inner working caused him to become the fulltime babysitter of Zexion – why would he want to venture anywhere near such a mine field? All he knew was that Vexen's original scheme was to use the potion of pure evil on his flowers – _wait a second!_ he stopped himself mid thought. _Just what did Vexen plan on doing … turning all the flowers to seedling? How would that benefit anything? Has Vexen finally lost his mind?_

"When will that old coot realise that nothing he does will prove to be worthwhile?" Larxene stated, laughing snidely as she pushed Zexion down once again. "He's nothing but a snivelling coward."

"While I agree with everything you have just said," he told her. "The course of Vexen's usefulness has not run dry yet."

Larxene stopped what she was doing, which was pushing Zexion down for the third time, and looked to Marluxia. "You mean to tell me that Vexen has a current usefulness – a purpose?" she asked, somewhat amazed.

"Everyone in the Organisation has their own purpose, however, once that purpose becomes non-existence, members because ineffective. Vexen, as unbelievable as it sounds, has a purpose – a very important one at that."

"Oh? What might that be then?" she asked.

"Fixing that abomination," he replied quickly, pointing a finger directly at the baby. He shook his head slowly and pushed himself from his chair. He was growing tired of just sitting down and doing nothing. "For the record, Larxene," Marluxia said, walking over to the sink to fill a glass with water. "If you keep pushing him down, Zexion is liable to throw his cup at you."

He took a sip of the water, watching Larxene as she arched a brow and sneered at Zexion.

"If that pipsqueak throws a cup at me, I'll throw a fist back at him," she declared, looking at Marluxia with a sinister smile that would have made the man shiver if it were not for several reasons: 1) he was a nobody, thus incapable of actually feeling emotion such as fear, and 2) Larxene had shone that smile so many times before that said smirk was now her trademark expression.

In Marluxia's opinion, trademark expressions usually did not emit fear into a person because of the simple fact that they were too common. If one truly wanted to emit fear into a person then it would be best to only reserve the, in Larxene's case, sinister smile for severe purposes. If someone were to grow too use to the trademark expression then they would simply blow it off as being a regular occurrence, one that they did not fear. Nevertheless, everyone had a trademark expression they favoured over the rest. Hell, he had seen the majority that the others used - some not as effective as others though. Demyx, he felt, could not emit fear into a gnat. _Then again_, he began thinking to himself, crossing his arms as he threw the glass into the sink; _it's all in the eyes_. _There really is no point in smiling sinisterly if your eyes are laughing – it defeats the whole purpose!_

He did briefly wonder why he was so engrossed in the topic of trademark expressions because, to be frank, there really was no point to it. Watching paint dry would prove to be more worth of his time. After all, he did not need to spend minutes mentally pondering over such trivialness as he was more than aware that if he were a small child, who had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting Vexen's trademark expression, he would run away and jump directly on the sharp end of the key – _I really have to stop putting my demise and the keyblade in the same sentence. Surely there must be a better way to go … something more original…_

Marluxia was thrown from his reverie when he felt something skim past his cheek followed by the sudden yell of: "Stop ignoring me!"

He looked up.

Larxene stood, hands perched on her hips, as she glared at the mauve-haired man. Sometimes she believed that the stupidity that lingered in the air of Castle Oblivion was contagious and that it was only a matter of time before the dreaded air sought her out too. When that time comes, she'll fight until she takes her last breath. Yes, she decided, when her time comes, she'll be standing on top of the stairs and with the last of her energy she'll stagger forward and tumble, in slow motion for dramatics, down the stairs. _Man, the air must be catching up quicker than I expected_, she said to herself. She roughly shook her head and exhaled loudly, looking up at Marluxia.

"Are you back in the real world now?" she asked snidely.

Marluxia arched a brow. Was he not allowed a moment where he could collect his thoughts and rearrange them so that they were semi coherent? Sometimes, living inside Castle Oblivion was the same as being trapped inside a cardboard box, where the walls were slowly closing in. Throw thirteen different personalities into that box and you get complete mayhem.

"Why is he here anyway?" she asked, taking a step forward. "And if you say something obviously stupid, such as, 'oh, well he lives here (_hyuk)_' then I'm going to hit you - hard."

"One, I was not going to say that," Marluxia responded, narrowing his eyes as he looked in Larxene's direction. "And two - I don't laugh like that!" He raised his right hand slightly above his line of vision and flexed his fingers before abruptly clenching his fist. "In answer to your question though, Xemnas came up with the brilliant idea to have me watch Zexion," he sighed.

The blonde walked forward once more so that she stood directly in front of Marluxia. "You ... look after Pinky there?" she asked, pointing to Zexion.

Marluxia nodded.

"This could work out in our favour," she said, leaning over the counter to grasp a small container of salt. She read the label before turning the silver container over, watching with a bored expression as the small grains of salt fell to form a growing mount. When the salt resembled a small mountain, Larxene picked up the pepper and tilted the jar slightly, watching carefully so too much pepper wasn't added to the peak of the mountain. "In order of us to continue with the plan ... he will eventually need to be taken care of."

"If something were to happen to him while in my care, it would look suspicious," he informed her.

"I'm sure with your track history in the kitchen, Marluxia, dropping him in the deep fat fryer would look accidental," Larxene replied, putting the final finishing touch to her salt and pepper mountain.

Marluxia shook his head, dragging his attention from the woman. While the idea – no, it was more than a mere idea ... it was a definite change – to become Superior was a main priority for him, finding a way to rid himself of the babysitting duty was increasingly important too. He did briefly wonder whether this had anything to do with the exercise Xemnas had made them all do. For some reason or other (Xemnas did not state), the Superior decided that it was essential for the members of the organisation to be able to care for a goldfish. Each member was given a goldfish and was expected to keep the fish alive for one week. Just one week. That was all.

**Xigbar's fish**: Blackbeard. **Life span**: three days. **Cause of death**: Blackbeard did not like to stay and swim in the water like a regular fish; on the contrary, he preferred to fly on top of his bowl, or the ceiling of whatever room he was in at the time. _Xigbar claimed not responsible for the death of Blackbeard._

**Xaldin's fish**: Yellowbeard (cousin of Blackbeard). **Life span**: four days. **Cause of death**: Turned into sushi. _Xaldin claimed not responsible for the death of_ _Yellowbeard._

**Vexen's fish**: Chlorine. **Life span**: three days. **Cause of death**: Ironically, chlorine poisoning. Vexen, being the inexperienced fish owner that he is, failed to realise that chlorine, a chemical used to sterilise water, is actually hazardous to fish. _Vexen claimed responsibility for the death of Chlorine._

**Lexaeus' fish**: Terra. **Life span**: six days. **Cause of death**: Unknown. Lexaeus left the fish unattended for five minutes and returned to find Terra lying belly-up. _Lexaeus claimed semi responsible for the death of Terra._

**Zexion's fish**: Fish – later named 007 James Pond. **Life span**: seven days – the whole week! Despite the fact that Zexion claimed to be uninterested in Fish (007 James Pond), many of the organisation believed this to be a ruse, due to the fact that Fish (007 James Pond) managed to survived the week. _Congratulations, Zexion!_

**Saix's fish(es):** Moonbeam. **Life span**: seven days – the whole week! When asked whether he was replacing each fish once it died, Saix refused to comment. This idea became factual when Moonbeam mysteriously changed from a goldfish to a tropical fish overnight. Saix was applauded for his creativity and enthusiasm for the set task. _Erm, congratulations, Saix..._

**Axel's fish**: Roxas – later named (by Roxas) Goldine – later named (by Axel) Rambo – the Flurry of Dancing Fish. **Life span**: five days. **Cause of death**: Overfed. What did you expect: Axel, being the one-track minded nobody that he is, to use his spectacular fire powers to boil the water and for poor Roxas/Goldine/Rambo to be fried? _Axel claimed not responsible for death of Roxgobo_ (later merged together by Axel, much to Roxas' dismay)

**Demyx's fish**: Originally named Flounder but needed to be renamed due to copyright infringement. **Demyx's fish**: Neptune. **Life span**: Seven days – the whole week! Demyx was so excited to finally have a pet that he took extra special care of Neptune. He would go swimming each day with his new friend and made sure to feed him every day. It is unknown how Neptune grew to be so big, but he still lives in the pond outside, where Demyx visits every day. _Big congratulations, Demyx!_

**Luxord's fish**: Bluebeard the Ace Joker (brother of Yellowbeard, cousin to Blackbeard – resident black sheep of the family). **Life span**: Six days. **Cause of death**: Depression from loss of family members. Fowl play was suspected. Bluebeard was buried outside with Blackbeard. _Luxord claimed not responsible for death of Bluebeard the Ace Joker._

**Marluxia's fish**: Marluxia, King of the fish. **Life span**: seven days – the whole week! Despite there being many raised eyebrows about Marluxia's choice in name, which he stated as giving a poor fish the recognition it deserved and considering the fact that many goldfish have a short life expectancy, he felt the need to humour said fish. When asked how he managed to keep Marluxia alive, he said that it was not a hard task to accomplish and that anyone with more than half a brain cell could achieve it. He also stated that years of experience in keeping flowers alive gave him an edge to life. _Yes, congratulations, Marluxia._

**Larxene's fish**: Tim. **Life span**: Four days. **Cause of death**: Executed by electrocution after Tim refused to perform simple tricks. How he survived four days is a mystery. _Larxene eagerly claimed responsibility for the death of Tim._

**Roxas' fish**: Flick. **Life span**: One day and three hours. **Cause of death**: Neglect. While Roxas was in the process of convincing Axel to change the name of his fish to Goldine (Roxas felt having a fish named after himself was too creepy), he failed to provide for his own fish, Flick. _Roxas begrudgingly claimed responsibility for the death of Flick._

Finally, the fish that no one knew about:

**Xemnas' fish**: Kingdom Hearts, which he shorted to Karts.** Life span**: less than one day. **Cause of death**: Suicide/accidental death. In addition, a bad owner who failed to meet any of the requirements that poor Kingdom Hearts (Karts) needed. Xemnas concealed the fact that he flushed Kingdom Hearts (Karts) down the toilet, however, to Xemnas it seemed as if Kingdom Hearts (Karts) had somehow jumped from his fish bowl into the toilet when the Superior was taking him for a bath. Was Xemnas that bad of a fish owner that Kingdom Hearts (Karts) would rather commit suicide than be with him? _Xemnas claimed not responsible for the death of Kingdom Hearts, a.k.a. Karts._

_Yes_, Marluxia deducted, _that was one hell of a week. Pointless too_. He shook his head to rid himself of the pointless memory and looked around the kitchen. So far, he noticed, Zexion had been quiet for a long time and for some reason that did not sit well with him. When he saw the slate-haired baby he arched a brow. Zexion was sitting on the floor, where he had fallen when Larxene had pushed him down, and was quietly supping his milk.

"Why are you down so early anyway?" he asked Larxene, as he gently tapped his right foot on the floor to regain feeling, not tearing his eyes away from Zexion. Who knew if this was a clever ploy to make him believe that the baby was behaving? Despite being in an infantile baby with an infantile mind, Zexion was still a manipulative nobody.

Larxene sighed as she blew her mountain, watching as it scattered across the work surface. "Not all of us can be fortunate enough to avoid breakfast duty," she grumbled.

The blonde woman stretched, using the corner of the work surface to push herself straight. One would think that such a big castle would merit at least one slave, or possibly a servant. If she had realised that she would be spending the majority of her non-existence cleaning up after a bunch of men, some of which she could not stand, she would have missed the train and headed straight for the graveyard in Halloween Town. Yes, being a nobody was hard work. It was difficult for her to cut corners because there was at least one other who would go crying to the Superior. Seriously, it was like living with a bunch of horrible old ladies with a few kids thrown in for annoying measures. She deserved better than this. Her hard work was never appreciated...

Larxene effortless opened the cupboards and gathered a selection of boxes in her arms, leaving the cupboard open as she walked over to the table and threw the boxes down. "Now all I need is the milk," she said, crossing her arms. When she realised that no one was going to hand her milk, Larxene sighed loudly and slouched over to the fridge. She pulled the door open, pausing to stretch her leg so she could kick Zexion down once again. "Why do we have so many different types of milk? Skimmed (skim). Semi-skimmed (2). Whole. Purified. Soya. What is the point? No one drinks half of it..."

Larxene was so engrossed with all the different types of milk that took up one quarter of the fridge that she failed so see Zexion push himself up and stagger in her direction. He lifted his cup and clumsily tipped it, the remaining contents falling to the floor.

The Savage Nymph stopped furrowing in the fridge and looked down at Zexion, who was smiling up at her. She narrowed her eyes and emitted a groan as she tore her attention from the baby to her boots, glowering at the white liquid that covered them.

"I don't care what you said," she said in a gravelly voice, slamming the fridge shut. "If I kill him it won't be questioned!"

Marluxia decided now was the perfect time to step in because he did not fancy putting Zexion back together, piece by bloody piece. If there was one person who did not threat lightly it was Larxene. Once the woman had her mind set on something, it usually did not change until it was accomplished.

"Now, now, Larxene," he began. "Where is the joy in killing something that can't fight back?"

"Plenty!" she growled.

The man shook his head, emitting a low laugh as he walked to where the blonde stood. "I know that's not true. You enjoy it when they fight back – it keeps you on your toes. You said so yourself."

"I can make an exception!"

This was not working out in his favour. Perhaps he should just grab Zexion and run? No, that would make it seem like he was too eager, which he was not. The last thing he needed to do was give out false impressions. It wasn't like he cared. He could not care. So why act it?

"He was doing you a favour," Marluxia resorted.

Larxene arched a brow as she turned to face Marluxia. "How is pouring milk on my LEATHER boots fundamental?"

"You wanted milk and he gave you his," he smirked, lightly waving his right hand. "Didn't you, Zexion?"

Zexion nodded his head eagerly and slammed his cup on the floor several times. "Yea!" he exclaimed happily.

_So, Zexion's at an age where he can understand and respond to people – plus he's learning to talk_, Marluxia thought, taking in all he was learning about Zexion. It did make him wonder whether Zexion was the type of child who learned through observation and imitation, because Marluxia did not fancy having to sacrifice time and effort in teaching the child. Perhaps if he just continued talking to Zexion, he would learn on his own?

"See," he began, "from the mouth of Zexion himself."

Larxene bared her teeth. "I ... don't ... care," she snarled.

"Boots drink," Zexion laughed, throwing his cup across the kitchen and clapping his hands together.

_He certainly is a fast learner_, Marluxia noted. He looked up and stared at Larxene. The expression that crossed her face told him all he needed to know. "Let's leave Larxene to finish making breakfast, shall we, Zexion?" he said quickly.

The mauve-haired nobody didn't give Zexion the opportunity to react to his sudden demand and swiftly picked the baby up. He shone a small smile to Larxene, whose cheeks were growing darker with ire with each passing second, and turned to Zexion. "Say bye-bye to Larxene," he told Zexion, holding back a laugh, as he speedily made a dash for the door.

"Bye-bye!" Zexion squealed cheerfully, waving enthusiastically at Larxene.

Marluxia slammed the door shut just in time, as the next sound that could be heard was the livid shrieks of Larxene and a series of angry thumping sounds from the door. Either she had thrown several knives at the door as both man and child passed through, or something exactly sharp, as Marluxia had heard no noise to indicate something had collided with the floor.

"That was the wicked witch of Castle Oblivion," he told Zexion, putting the child on the floor. "Larxene."

Zexion sat down and looked up, pointing to the closed kitchen door. "Wicked witch," he said.

Marluxia smirked as he nodded.

"Lar'ene," the child smiled.

"Not quite," Marluxia replied. "It's a start though."

The older man stretched as he walked over to the sofa, throwing himself down as heavily as possible. He closed his eyes and tried to ignore the existence of anything that wasn't inside his mind. He had had his fair share of excitement for one day and he had gained no sleep in the process. Sometimes, non-existence wasn't fair. Not fair at all...

"Just so you know," said a loud voice from across the room. "I let you win because I had too much munny."

"Of course you did, mate," laughed another voice with a thick British accent. "Just like all those other times, is it?"

"But of course," he sniggered. "I'm Mr Generous!"

"Well, _Mr Generous_, I think you're just a person who can't handle losing so he has to lie about it."

"Me ... lie? As if. I let you win because I know that you're a bitch when you lose, and I let Xaldin win because I felt sorry for him."

Both men stopped mid-step when a sound, which resembled that of a baby babbling, interrupted their conversation. They looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. Due to the fact that there was no baby in Castle Oblivion, it was clearly obvious they were insane and had imagined it. They began walking again.

"I believe that I, in fact, am too sane to be going insane," Luxord exclaimed, looking to Xigbar. "And considering the fact that you heard the noise too means that I am not insane."

"Dude, that's the craziest thing I've ever heard."

Luxord shoot his head. "I've heard worse, trust me."

They continued walking but were cut off once more by the same sound they heard previously. Xigbar turned to Luxord, his long pony-tail swaying behind him, "There it is again," he exclaimed, rather loudly than he intended.

Luxord nodded. "Most definitely sounds like a baby."

The blond looked around behind him and then again to the sides but could see nothing that proved this sound wasn't coincidentally inside both nobodies' minds. Besides, he had never heard of a case of simultaneous insanity before and, to be honest, he did not wish to be the first case either. He exhaled loudly and shook his head. Maybe Xigbar was playing a joke on him and the long-haired man did not hear the voice. Or it could very well be the other way around. Perhaps Xigbar heard the sound and Luxord was subconsciously playing along? _If I didn't sound like an insane man before then I certainly do now_, he inwardly laughed to himself.

He was dragged roughly from his reverie by a hard tapping on his shoulder. He turned to see what Xigbar was doing but stopped when he saw what the other man was pointing at. A child who, in his eyes resembled a very young Zexion (no one could mistake that coloured hair and those eyes), stood before both men, a small toy grasped firmly in his hands.

"Hey, kid!" Xigbar greeted, as if the sudden appearance of a young child in the castle was a regular occurrence. "What's your name?"

Zexion looked up at the two men that stood in his way. He had never seen them before, but then again, there were a lot of people he had never seen before too. Lar'ene was someone he hadn't met until today and he wasn't too sure if he wanted to meet her again. She was funny though.

"Ze'ion," he said softly, pointing to himself.

Xigbar grinned toothily as he directed a side-long glance to Luxord. "Remind me to start carrying a camera with me at all times because this is too good to be true," he sniggered, bending down to have a good look at the child."So this is what Zexion was like before he turned into the manipulative little slout that we all grew to ignore – until he started to whinge about being ignored that is."

Luxord blinked. "What on Earth is a slout?"

Xigbar laughed as he scratched his head. "I have no idea but it sounded pretty sweet, didn't it?"

"I wonder what happened to cause such a revolutionary experience," Luxord wondered, rubbing his bearded chin softly.

"If I guess right can't I have my munny back?" the Freeshooter grinned.

"No," was the simple reply Luxord gave. Xigbar shook his head. It was worth a shot; that much he knew. He would just have to get more munny so he could back his munny. It was a rather vicious cycle but he was certain that in the long run, he would be better off finically. However, right now was an opportunity looking him straight in the face. What to do though?

"Well, Zexion, I'm yer Uncle Xigbar," he grinned, hoisting the child up. "That there is Uncle Luxord – the cheat!" he continued, thrusting Zexion into Luxord's arms.

The short-haired male looked down at Zexion, who was grinning and clapping his hands. "Well, you certainly are a small bundle of energy."

Zexion poked Luxord's chin and tried to grab onto his beard, only to find the hairs too short for him to get a firm grip. Slowly, he pulled his small hand back and looked at Luxord, who was sniggering slightly, before reaching out once more, only this time without the intent of pulling at the man's beard.

Luxord bit the bottom of his lip as Zexion pulled firmly at his earring, laughing gleefully with each tug. "Stop it! Get this kid off me!" he yelled, taking a small step backwards.

Xigbar crossed his arms and smirked as he observed the scene. It certainly was amusing, he had to admit that. Luxord was squealing, stepping backwards, and praying to some strange god in hopes of stopping the child from tugging the piercing. Did he honestly believe that by telling the child to stop what he was doing would cause said child to listen? Maybe they did not have children in the world where Luxord was originally from? Either that or the children were treated and acted different to what he associated to children.

"Xigbar, don't just stand there looking like a great, big, ignorant git!" he yelled. "Oh bloody hell, get this brat off me! What are you – where did you get that camera from! Xigbar, stop it! Turn the flash off - I can't see!"

Xigbar laughed, taking several photos before slipping the camera back inside the pocket of his coat. He forgot that after the Vexen incident, he began to get into the habit of keeping a small camera inside his coat. He took a moment to look at Zexion, happily giggling aloud, and sighed. There was nothing more beautiful that seeing a child having fun and smiling, as well as seeing a full grown man running around, making a fool of himself. Ignorance really was bliss.

He didn't know how, but Luxord had somehow managed to pry Zexion's small hands off his earring and he was currently holding said child a good distance away from his face. His ear was bright red and he decided it was a miracle that the clumsy hands hadn't ripped the earring out. _No_, Luxord decided, _that was a painful experience that I did not wish to relive_. Somehow, he assumed it was Xigbar's doing, Saix's hair strangely managed to tangle itself around his earring, which meant that when Saix suddenly stood up, his earring followed. Very painful indeed, especially considering it was several of the hoops. He decided never again to get a piercing after that.

"Thank you for helping, Xigbar," he sneered sarcastically, narrowing his eyes as he diverted a glare to the other.

Xigbar smiled his response.

"Well, it seems that at least some of you are here on time," said Xemnas, suddenly appearing through a portal of darkness. He looked around, seeing four members of the organisation and hearing an additional member in the kitchen.

Luxord and Xigbar looked at each other, thinking the same thing. "Huh? On time for what?"

The platinum-haired nobody sighed, rolling his eyes. _Organisation XIII would be more successful if the members consisted solely of monkeys_, Xemnas decided. _I'd get more cooperation that way too_. Really, what was the point of sending out memos if no one read them? Did no one care from the sacrifice of the trees that went into the paper for those memos? Obviously not.

"I'm taking it you failed to read the memo that I sent to each of you?" he asked, placing his hands on his hips as he looked over the members he could see.

Xigbar and Luxord looked each other and shrugged their shoulders. Zexion shook his rattle but looked up at Xemnas. _At least one of them acknowledges me_, Xemnas sighed. _Shame it has to be the one that was turned into a baby_. Marluxia was slouched on the sofa in a way that would possibly destroy his back if he remained in the position for much longer. His eyes were closed and his arms crossed and if Xemnas did not already know that Marluxia went out of his way to ignore him, he would have believed that the nobody had merely fallen asleep. No, Xemnas was convinced that said nobody was possibly thinking up creative ways to ignore him whilst standing in the same room. It was rather bothersome at times but he was slowly becoming accustomed to each member's ways.

The Superior shook his head. "The memo I sent out informed you all of the meeting that is to take place in the next five minutes," he told them, observing the reactions.

Xigbar looked to the ground, where Zexion stood. When had Luxord put the child down? It mattered very little as he roughly picked the child up, causing Zexion to drop the rattle on the floor, and threw Zexion into Xemnas' arms.

"Did you know that Zexion is a baby?" he laughed, waving his arms in front of Zexion.

Xemnas arched a brow. "Zexion is not a ragdoll, Xigbar. You have to be careful with him. What would have happened if he had fallen?" he asked, stepping towards the long-haired man, who smirked as he stretched his arms.

"Like he would have actually hurt himself," he replied. "Besides, everyone knows that babies always land on their feet when dropped from a great distance."

"Cats always land on their feet when dropped from a distance," Xemnas pointed out. "Babies break their bones."

"Phft ... cats, children – same thing. You stick a collar on them and teach them tricks ... take them for a walk. Admit it ... children are just living, human pets."

Xemnas stared at Xigbar before putting Zexion back on the floor. "The meeting is going to commence in five minutes."

Xemnas perched himself on the arm of the sofa and reached to grab the television guide. He was certain that that new programme started tonight – the show where that woman hunted vampires. What was it called? Something the something? Whatever it was called, Xemnas wanted to watch it. He had stayed up all night last week to see the advert that was occasionally shown.

"Zexion ball!"

Xemnas slowly looked his magazine and stared wide-eyed at what two of his organisation members were doing. Xigbar was using his abilities to suspend Zexion in midair and was throwing the child over to Luxord, who then threw the child back. All the while, Zexion laughed cheerfully as he slowly travelled (Xigbar's ability over gravity is stopping the child from actually falling to the ground or from going too fast) from one nobody to the other, clapping widely as the make-shift wind blew through his short hair. It slightly reminded Xemnas of a strange - very strange - swing with no actual rope or seat. The motion was following the same mechanism of swinging back and fourth. He only hoped that Xigbar did not get too distracted with something else and cause Zexion to fall heavily to the floor.

"If you need anyone to look after Zexion, me and the Time Lord here will happily agree," Xigbar declared, throwing Zexion back to Luxord.

The blond caught the baby and stared at Xigbar, who grinned and waved his arms to indicate that Luxord should throw the child back. "I happen to have more important things to accomplish that take care of a child," he informed Xigbar, throwing Zexion higher into the air.

"I'm sure we can take a little breather from making the TARDIS. Besides, we need to get the blue prints off Xaldin."

_From now on organisation members need to meet certain requirements_, Xemnas decided. _I will be the one to the recruit new members and if they fail to meet these requirements then I will kill them on the spot_.

"The position of fulltime babysitter has been given to Marluxia," Xemnas informed Xigbar. He closed the magazine and slowly placed it on the table. He had not been able to find the article he sought. It had officially ruined his day.

The Freeshooter stepped forward, looking over Xemnas to see Marluxia. "He's not doing a very good job, is he? I mean, anything could have happened had me and Luxord not been here," Xigbar smirked, shaking a finger in Marluxia's direction. "I think he should be fired!"

Sighing, Xemnas stood up and walked over to the kitchen, slowly pushing his ear to the door. He put his hands to the door and waited until he was certain that Larxene was not going to throw something at his head the moment he entered the room.

Three...

Two...

One...

No sound...

"The meeting will take place in the kitchen," he said, using his stern voice in order to express that this was one of the times he wished to be obeyed. He pushed the door open and walked into the kitchen.

"Meetings – oh joy," Xigbar spoke in a sing-song voice. He exhaled loudly, throwing his arms in the air and looked at Marluxia and then at Zexion. His lips curled into a small smile as he picked Zexion up. His nose wrinkled slightly and a small cough escaped his mouth. "Marluxia! Meeting!" he shouted gleefully, throwing Zexion in Marluxia's lap.

With the wind knocked out of him, Marluxia abruptly opened his eyes to a slightly blurry world. "What the-"

"Meeting," Xigbar smiled, putting his hands behind his back as he walked into the kitchen, whistling a happy tune he heard from the Hundred Acre Wood.

Marluxia blinked two times, cursing under his breath as he slowly pushed himself from the sofa. He looked down at Zexion, who had slid off the sofa shortly after he had been thrown at Marluxia, and shook his head.

"You can walk," he told him harshly, making his way to the kitchen, praying that Larxene had somehow knocked herself out with a frying pan and forgotten what occurred before hand.

-

TO BE CONTINUED

NEXT CHAPTER: DAY TWO pt THREE

-

Author's Notes: Okay, first off: I apologise for the lateness in this chapter. It's been hectic. My laptop broke and I had to buy another, meaning that I lost the chapter I had originally written for this. Yes, the chapter is nothing like I had intended. It is, in fact, longer. I tried to write the same but ideas kept popping into my head, so I thought - why the hell not! More for you guys to read. So yeah ... the meeting is in the next chapter and the remaining characters will be introduced to Zexion :D

Right then. I hope you like the way I portrayed Larxene, Xigbar and Luxord. I know that Larxene is a bitch and won't hesitate to hit a kid, but I didn't really fancy writing her hitting a kid that is less the 2 yrs. So I decided to have her be mean in a comical way, instead of a sadistic way. Xigbar ... he's going to have a field day with this one. This is going to get worse lol. I wonder who will be worse: Xigbar or Axel? Finally, Luxord. I look that guy ... mainly because he's British (starts waving the union jack flag :D). Yeah, I'm being biased there. I'm not sure that I'd done this character the justice he deserves yet. So I need to do a little character building for him.

Ok. Wow ... thank you all so so much for the reviews. I never expected this small fic to be so popular but I glad that you are enjoying it. I love writing it too.

So special thanks to:

**Sakon of the Sound** - Thank you and I'm glad you liked it

**One-Winged-Chaos** - Thank you so much :)

**KH and SN Fangirl** - :D :D

**Xanophillius Nacindo Dulliante** - You're right, Marluxia certainly does have his work cut out for him and it's not gonna get any easier lol. And yup, Roxas will be overjoyed that Zexion gets to wear the top :D

**Susumi** - Squee! I'm seriously gonna get a fanart?? Wow :D I actually realised that I left something out from the last chapter when I read your review. There was actually a reason why Zexion was crying in the night: he was teething. Doh! Silly me! I'm pleased you like the way I portray Roxas. For some reason, I enjoy writing him so much, which is strange because I didn't actually take to him at first. Oh well. I'm glad you liked it though.

**sailor winx** - Thank you!

**awkward.spider** - Thanx and anyone who doesn't wanna hug Zexion is just mean :)

**Katherine-The-Crowned** - I loved the book scene too. I can just see Roxas as being this blatant person. He'll learn soon though lol.

**MuffinPirate** - Yay you liked it :)

**pride1289** - Yup Larxene has been thrown in too hehe. Thanks for the review

**Hikari inai kasumi** - Oh, believe me - It doesn't get any easier for Marluxia lol. Zexion when he becomes a teenager ... I'm actually dreading writing it

**Crazy Stalker Chick** - Thank you thank you :)

**Sadist-Schemer** - Let me start by apologising for getting your name wrong. The worst part is that I actually had the reviews open in another window and checked your name before I wrote it too. I'm so so sorry lol. I'm glad you liked the chap and cheers for the review :D

**Gehktus Yht Kq Yht Tekesuh** - Thank you :D :D

**LupinandHarry** - Thanks for reviewing. In answer to the Axel only using fire - well, when an author doesn't really take to the character and isn't willing to look any deeper than the surface ... well you get fire lol. I'll try harder next time though. I just don't like writing for Axel - I struggle immensely.

**Xaldin's Girlfriend** - Thank you so much :)

**thegreatwhitewolf** - I'm really glad that you like Marluxia in this fic. In my eyes ... Marluxia is a bit of both. I guess it depends on the reasons why he wanted to take over: it could go 2 ways. To better the organisation or to better himself. I'm still trying to figure why he wanted to take over. For some reason I think that he just doesn't like Xemnas, which I think I make it obvious here lol. Thanks for the review

**Valitiel** - Cheers for reviewing. Who's gonna be mummy? I guess it's whoever Marluxia is able to pawn Zexion off to at the time lol. Or maybe I should force him to be a single parent lol.

Ok, that's enough from me. I'm glad you liked my nickname for Marluxia :D If there is anything that doesn't make sense or seems off - please, don't hesitate to tell me. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and if certain parts seem weak, I apologise.

Toodle Pip

-Bexi


	7. Day Two Part 2

17 DAYS OF HELL

A Kingdom Hearts fanfiction

Kingdom Hearts is property of Square Enix and Disney

This fanfiction is purely for entertainment – please do not get offended

Enjoy…

-- DAY TWO –-

1 – 2 Years Old

Marluxia sighed softly as he walked into the kitchen at a sluggish pace. He didn't have to look behind him to know that Zexion was following his lead. It was slightly amazing that Zexion had mastered the ability to walk without falling, considering the fact that said child could not stand two hours ago. Marluxia did wonder whether this had anything to do with what he had observed previously in regards to Zexion's dramatic aging. That idea did nag in the back of his mind; however, he was more willing to put it down to his great teachings rather than anything else. It wasn't that he was bigheaded or anything, despite the fact that perhaps his ego was growing larger with each passing second. No, if he wished to be Superior then it would work in his favour if he was fully capable of teaching others things they needed to know. Walking, he decided, was an essential skill to learn. Yes, that and spinning plates.

The first thing that he noticed when he entered the kitchen was Larxene, who had her backed turned to him, was completely oblivious to his presence. He had to bite down hard on his lip to stop himself from making a comment about being bested by a year old child, which would inevitably result in her doing one of two things: 1) she would throw one of the many pints of milk, in a glass bottle, at his head, or 2) she would throw the bottle at his head, followed by three plates, followed by a small saucepan, then again by five forks and one spoon, finally, she would storm over to him, slap him hard across the face, smirk and then deliver a swift kick to the groin. This, of course, was not speaking from experience.

It would possibly do well to attempt to ignore the blonde woman until she deemed it fit to speak again. He was more than aware that it was utterly pathetic to quiver to a mere woman's whims, but it was too early and Larxene was a psychotic maniac. Plus, she was the one handling his food. Was it really wise to annoy her? She would more than likely put a spoon of potassium cyanide in his coffee, in place of the usual small spoon of sugar, and smiling a sickly sweet smile as he drank the coffee, commenting that it was particularly sweeter than usual.

He shook his head. It was then that he remembered Xigbar telling him that there was a meeting. He tried to recall whether or not any meetings were scheduled for today. Today was a Wednesday, which was unusual for a meeting, as Xemnas, for some peculiar reason, preferred meetings to be held every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. So why would there be a meeting on Wednesday, and more importantly, why was he not informed of it? It seemed almost unfair to attend a meeting that he had not been told of.

"Well lookie here – Sleeping Beauty finally woke up," Xigbar laughed loudly, leaning as far back on his chair with his legs propped on the table.

_Well, there goes my chances of remaining semi invisible_, Marluxia grumbled to himself. He stifled a yawn as he walked further into the kitchen and discretely kicked the chair from underneath Xigbar, smirking as he walked by, innocently whistling a tune he created only moments ago, which he unofficially dubbed: Scythe of Petals. It was at that moment that he decided if being Superior failed, he would no doubt excel in the entertainment industry.

He watched out of the corner of his eye as Xigbar lay on the ground in a most undignified manner. The one-eyed man rubbed his head and spat a few colourful words before pushing himself up, only to hit his head on the corner of the table. By the way that Xigbar was glaring at the white table; Marluxia was almost certain that the other would soon pull out his weapon and decorate the table with bullet holes. Alas, this did not happen. No, Xigbar pushed himself up and kicked the knocked over chair at the table, laughing snidely and grinning ear to ear as he cracked every finger on his right hand.

Xigbar 1 – Table 0.

_Hats obviously need to go off to Xigbar_, Marluxia sniggered to himself. He was half expecting the dark-haired man to turn and pick a fight with him, however, that did not happen. Xigbar merely pulled the next chair out and sat down, taking up the position he had before he fell. It was as if the incident never happened. He was half tempted to kick the chair again, just to get a more satisfying response from Xigbar. _I really have to stop tormenting others for my own amassment – I'm becoming as bad as Axel_, he decided, crossing his arms as he stole a quick glance behind him. Zexion had managed to make it into the kitchen at last.

"Funny man!" the child squealed happily, pointing at Xigbar.

Xigbar looked at Zexion and smirked, showing off a row of white teeth as he gave the Schemer the thumbs up sign. "There ain't nothing funny about me, kid," he sniggered.

_That's what he thinks_, Marluxia sneered, keeping his judgemental opinions to himself for once. While it was true that he preferred to tell the others where he thought they were going wrong, which resulted in serious repercussions on numerous occasions, he finally decided that it was not worth his time and effort if the outcome was not to be appreciated. The leach that Xemnas was keeping around each of their necks was slacking with each day and, unfortunately for the so-called Superior of Organisation XIII, it was proving to be more than difficult to pull the chain back again. It was a grave mistake that Xemnas would not get the opportunity to learn from.

"That brat is banned from this kitchen!" Larxene spat, abruptly turning on her heel.

"Larxene, you don't have the right to ban anyone from any room in this castle," Marluxia replied, matter-of-factly.

Luxord rolled his eyes as he shuffled his cards for the tenth time. _Here we go - another speech on how he is king of the castle and all the less than worthy scum that resides in the walls should fall to his feet_, he sniggered, as he removed six cards from the deck. He looked at the cards in his hand: Ace of Spades, King of Hearts, King of Spades, the Joker, Ace of Clubs and the 3 of Hearts. He placed the King of Hearts on the table, leaving a space next to it before placing the King of Spades down too. He looked at the remaining cards and placed the Joker in between the two Kings. Left now with three cards in his hand, Luxord laid the 3 of Hearts directly under the Joker and then lay the Ace of Clubs sideways on top of the Joker. Finally, with one card remaining, he placed it higher than the others and stared down to observe the cards. The layout that had been created looked similar to that of a cross; however, there was more to everything than meets the eye.

"As long as I am working in here, the brat is out!" she shouted, waving the knife she was using, a large glob of butter falling to the ground.

"Why don't we put it down to chance?" Luxord said, gathering all his cards together. "Whoever picks the highest card wins."

He fanned the cards and held them out. Larxene said nothing as she threw the knife down and strode over to Luxord, quickly snatching a card from the fan. Before she had a chance to see which card she had chosen, Luxord quickly said, "Don't look at the card just yet." He turned away and held the fan in Marluxia's direction. "Your turn," he told him.

Marluxia crossed his arms and perched himself on the table. "It's not my fate to chance," he replied calmly.

The bearded man nodded once and pushed himself from his seat, kneeling in front of Zexion. He had no hesitations that his cards would be in jeopardy in the hands of a small child. They were in more danger in Larxene's hands then in Zexion's.

He watched carefully as Zexion took a small step forward and stared at the cards, looking them over. Luxord was certain that he could see the cogs turning in the child's head as he decided which card to pick. Even as a young child, Luxord knew that Zexion was still able to fully process things inside his mind, taking his time to make sure his decision was the correct one before proceeding. There was just something about the way Zexion reached for a middle card but stopped himself, deciding to choose a card nearer to the edge instead, that confirmed this for Luxord.

Luxord stood up and walked back to his seat. "Right, place the cards on the table – face up," he instructed, sub-consciously shuffling the cards.

Larxene smiled widely as she threw the card down as if it were nothing more than a dusty old rag. "King of Clubs – beat that, brat!" she beamed.

Zexion looked up at her and slowly walked to the table. He stopped when he reached Luxord and looked up at the table. It was too high for him to place his card on top, so he passed the card to Luxord, still face down.

Luxord smiled, silently grateful that Zexion was taking precautions with his beloved cards. He turned the card over. "Lady Luck must be shinning down on the little munchkin," he laughed. "Ace of Spades."

"Ace beats a King," Xigbar said aloud with a condescending edge to his voice. "Better luck next time, Larxene."

The woman narrowed her eyes, gritting her teeth as she slammed her fist on the table. "Fine!" she snarled, turning away from the others.

Xigbar laughed loudly at Larxene's behaviour, whereas Luxord only sniggered softly, shaking his head. "So how did this misfortune befall Zexion?"

"Vexen," Marluxia merely said, sneaking a quick glance at the clock. When was this meeting supposed to begin anyway?

"The meeting will commence when the others decide to grace us with their presence," Xemnas said suddenly, as if he was reading Marluxia's mind.

The comment caused Marluxia to turn to Xemnas. To be honest, he had not noticed the higher-up sitting at the end of the table. "Superior, I didn't see you there," he said.

Xemnas sighed. "Why does that not surprise me?" he muttered to himself, which was loud enough for the whole kitchen to hear.

Marluxia arched a fine brow. While he did go to some lengths to annoy and let it be known how much he despised the Superior, this time was unintentional. He had not seen the man walk into the kitchen. In fact, he had no recognition of seeing Xemnas at all today. Perhaps it had been when he was resting his eyes - not sleeping.

Marluxia shrugged his shoulders. He was not going to let Xemnas' childish behaviour deter him.

Xemnas crossed his arms as he leaned back on his chair. This really was getting ridiculous now. He had made sure that each member had received a memo informing them of the meeting. If things continued this way, then drastic measures would be taken. He would have to install a PA system in the castle, where 6am wake-ups were routine.

Xemnas turned his head when he heard voices coming from the other room. _Perhaps there is hope for this lot after all?_ he wondered.

"Ah breakfast! The most important meal of the day," Demyx exclaimed loudly, possibly with a large grin plastered across his face.

"I feel like a big, greasy breakfast with bacon, sausages, eggs, hash browns, fried tomatoes, and mushrooms with a large side order of fried bread," Axel replied, walking through the door with his arms flung over his head. He stopped walking and took one glance at the woman standing in front of the sink before turning to Demyx. "Cereal is good too," he said, his voice taking on a serious tone that was not usually associated with the red-head.

Xemnas decided to take this moment before someone else chose to interrupt. "Why are you late for the meeting?" he asked, crossing his arms as he looked at Demyx and Axel.

Demyx turned quickly and stared at Xemnas, his only movements being the constant blink of his eyes. He turned his head to Axel, who had his arms crossed tightly. The growing smile on Axel's face caused Demyx to swallow hard and slowly look back to Xemnas. He rubbed his hands together, taking a small step forward before taking two steps back. To most, the sight of a slightly nervous Demyx would be more than adorable and cause nothing more than the need to throw ones arms around the nobody and tell him that there was nothing to worry about. However, in the real world that does not happen. In the real world, one has to face their own problems and find their own individual solution.

That was how Demyx decided to look at it. He would, indeed, look the problem in the eye and talk his way out of it. He had done nothing wrong. He was a nobody. A member of the elite Organisation XIII. A powerful and strong fighter. He was brave. Handsome. Adored by millions of fans...

"Well?" Xemnas asked, growing impatient with the lack of response.

He was a coward and wanted nothing more than to find a rock and hide under it. He felt like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Maybe he could just move away to Atlantis and take Neptune with him?

"Well you see," he began, quietly. "Axel said that it was a joke ... that there really was no meeting..."

"If VIII told you that the world is going to end today and that the only way to survive is to stand on your head whilst drinking camomile tea – would you believe him?" Xemnas asked, completely serious.

Demyx opened his mouth to defend himself; however, no words were heard. He sighed softly and shook his head. "I guess," he grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head as he walked forward. "Good morning, Zexion – hey, you're walking!"

The Superior groaned, lightly massaging his temples as he let his head drop slightly. With both his elbows resting on the table, Xemnas closed his eyes, taking the time to fully comprehend the situation. Sometimes it really was frustrating being the Superior. There were days where his job was less tiresome and orders were directly followed, however, the other times, times like right now, his authority was not respected and rules not adhered to. Did they not realise that without his command, they would never gain Kingdom Hearts.

"What is the reasoning behind your lateness, Saix?" he asked, not bothering to open his eyes. He did not need to waste precious energy in such trivial things because hearing the nearly soundless scuffle of shoes on a white, impeccable floor gave away the fact that a member of the organisation was trying to sneak into the kitchen. There was only one member thoughtful enough to go to such extremes. _Besides_, Xemnas thought, _considering the fact that I was first to enter the room, I think I know who is here and who isn't_.

The Superior sighed listlessly as he opened his eyes and looked at Saix, who had a firm hold of the chair as he tried to pull it out silently.

"I would have assumed, considering the fact that you were the one to hand write all the memos and slide them under everyone's door, that you'd be on time," he said seriously.

The azure-haired man almost shuddered at the mere nightmare of having to write those blasted memos – four times over. He never realised that Xemnas was so indecisive when it came to memos. Did it really matter if the word urgently needed to be replaced with immediately? Finally when he had written all the memos, Xemnas decided that black ink would convey the importance better than blue.

"I overslept, Superior," he admitted, looking away as if the act of oversleeping was a most heinous crime.

Xemnas slowly nodded his head, which indicated that the conversation was over and that Saix could return to his seat. The other man nodded as he did so, shuddering slightly as he stole a quick glance at Zexion.

"The meeting is about to commence," he announced aloud, noticing that three other members had now made an appearance. _Next time, I shall arrange the meetings for the afternoon_, he decided, looking at the clock. While it was not early for him, others may disagree. _Right, everyone is here minus Vexen. I am not prepared to wait any longer._

Everyone slowly began to work their way around the kitchen so they could sit in the seats that Xemnas had so kindly allocated them. Xemnas, being the highly-appreciated Superior that he is, sat at the head of the table. The others sat in order of their rank. Using this small dot diagram would make explaining seating arrangements much simpler _**(: : : : : : -).**_ Xemnas is the dash **_(-)_** – note how he is significantly different to the others. To his right sits Xigbar and to his left is Xaldin. In order of who sits next to Xigbar is: Vexen, Zexion, Axel, Luxord and Larxene. In order of who sits next to Xaldin is: Lexaeus, Saix, Demyx, Marluxia and Roxas.

So, see below for diagrams:

**_. . . . . .  
_**- - - - - -**_x  
. . . . . ._**

**_-OR-_**

**_12 - 10 – 8 – 6 – 4 - 2_**

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - **_1_**

**_13 – 11 – 9 – 7 – 5 - 3_**

**_-OR-_**

**_Larxene – Luxord – Axel – Zexion – Vexen - Xigbar_**

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - **_Xemnas_**

**_Roxas – Marluxia – Demyx – Saix – Lexaeus – Xaldin_**

Xemnas waited until everyone was sitting down before he spoke. This proved to be a longer wait than expected because Zexion did not want to sit in his place. Whenever Marluxia sat the child down, Zexion would wriggle and shuffle off the chair. Had Marluxia not kept a constant hold on Zexion, the child would have fallen to the ground.

"Sit down," Marluxia growled in an authoritarian voice. Zexion was acting worse than a puppy that had not yet been fully trained. This really was humiliating. Being scrutinised by eleven nobodies was causing his anger to grow and he was more than aware that if he did not get away from Zexion, he would do something that would give off the impression that he was not as mature as he would like everyone to believe. In addition, he was unsure whether to laugh or not at the fact that everyone remained seated when it was plainly obvious that he was struggling. Not one offered assistance. _If I ever decide to create a list of those that I wish to kill in an extremely painful manner – everyone here is on it by default!_ he decided, sighing lightly.

"It's clearly obvious that Zexion adores you, Marluxia," Axel sneered, leaning forward with both his elbows resting on the table.

If looks could kill, Axel would have joined Roxas as a colourful smear on the wall. They could be wall buddies.

"Well what would you suggest then, genius?" Marluxia spat, legging go of Zexion.

Axel sat up and waved his index finger in the air. "Now, now, Marluxia," he mocked. "I'm sure you're smart enough to figure this out – it's simple..."

"Don't you ever tire of your own voice?" Marluxia asked, concealing a deep sigh

Axel smirked as he shook his head. "No," he exclaimed loudly.

Marluxia narrowed his eyes, slowly learning over to grab a hold on the fork nearest to him.

"If I may add a suggestion," said a deep voice, instantly causing the others to look over. Lexaeus stirred the sugar into his tea before slowly setting the spoon down. He picked the cup up using both hands and looked up at Marluxia and Axel. It was a known fact in Castle Oblivion – listen to what Lexaeus says because, despite what one might think, his down to earth logic does make sense. "Why not, for a short time of course, rearrange the table to suit the needs of Zexion." He blew gently on the drink before taking a small sip.

"I agree," Xemnas replied, pouring the piping tea into his own cup. Why Xemnas insisted on using a teapot was beyond anyone's knowledge. He claimed that the tea tasted more refined when poured directly from the pot. "Saix, you shall sit where Zexion usually sits. Axel, you will move into Saix's place. Demyx, move into Axel's seat. That leaves the seat next you, Marluxia, empty for Zexion to sit at."

"Why don't I move to where IV sits and he can eat out in the garden," Marluxia suggested darkly, picking Zexion up to save time in waiting for the child to walk around the room. While those chosen to move scurried around the kitchen, Marluxia glared darkly at the chair that was now reserved for Zexion. Why had he not noticed before that Zexion was now too small to sit in it? Would Zexion even sit still if he somehow managed to add height to the chair? _Only one way to find out_, he decided, looking around. A small smile crossed his features when his eyes lay upon a neat stack of cookery books. _They'll do_.

While the commotion of moving arrangements stole the attention of the other members, Xaldin slowly leaned over to his left, dark eyes never leaving the moving nobodies.

"Do you have any idea what is going on here?" he whispered, confusion filling his voice.

Lexaeus closed his eyes as he took a small sip of tea. "I am as stumped as you," he admitted, though his voice gave no indications that this bothered him. "However, if you nod, smile and go with the flow, everything will become clear."

Xaldin arched a brow and turned his head fully so he was able to observe Lexaeus. The auburn-haired man emitted the air of tranquillity as he sat with his eyes closed, sipping his tea. He had just admitted to being confused by the perplexing events that passed, however, somehow he managed to come out more knowledgeable than before.

The long-haired nobody shook his head as he shifted in his seat, breaking his gaze from Lexaeus. He was unsure whether he could simply follow Lexaeus' lead because he was used to knowing what was happening. He was of a high rank, which had its advantages in regards to the goings on of the other members. So to have everyone know ahead of him was almost like a large elephant stamping on all he had known and believed in regards to the Organisation. _Then again_, he wondered, _perhaps small changes are ... somewhat good for the mind._

Sighing, he begrudgingly decided to follow the lead of the ever knowing Lexaeus. Observation was a critical key factor. Observation had told him that Zexion was a baby and Marluxia was somehow roped into looking after him. He came to this conclusion quickly, as he could not picture Marluxia as being the type of anything that would put himself out for someone who wasn't himself. With this now fresh in his mind, all Xaldin would have to do is watch and wait. _And hope I don't become involved because ... I don't actually believe that I even need to finish my train of thought in regards to the situation here..._

Once everyone was seated in their new places, no one waited for Xemnas to declare that the meeting was officially in order. No, it was breakfast and nothing could deny hungry nobodies the most important meal of the day. Chaos was the perfect word to describe what occurred at the table. Axel shouted across to Roxas. Demyx was annoying Saix about meaningless nonsense. Xigbar was discussing loudly with Luxord about their plans for a poker game later on tonight. Marluxia was staring deep into his coffee as he looked up and saw Larxene smiling at him. He immediate stood up and poured the drink down the sink and made another. Nobody (no pun intended) managed to make the coffee how he preferred anyway.

"Someone seems rather paranoid today," Larxene sneered, taking a bite out of her toast and brushing any stray crumbs that had fallen on her coat.

"With all good reason," Marluxia replied, remaking the coffee his way: strong, two sugars and a small splash of milk. "I wouldn't wish you on my worst enemy," he told her, hoping to wipe that growing smile on her face. She really was insufferable at times.

"Moving onto the meeting," Xemnas said loudly, tapping his plate with a silver butter knife, pausing only for a moment to see where the butter from the appliance had landed.

"I've heard of cream tea but this is ridiculous," Xigbar laughed, staring at the knob of butter that floated in his drink.

"Moving on," the superior continued.

"Dare me to drink it?" Xigbar grinned, holding his mug high, as if it were a priceless artefact.

"Meeting?"

_"Chug! Chug! Chug!"_

Xigbar laughed before putting the drink to his lips and instantly downing the contents. The cheers of the others only caused his ego to grow larger, which prompted him to drink faster. All in all, the tea tasted normal, except when the un-melted butter touched his lips. He pulled a face and held the cup high; tilting it so that everyone could see the contents had been devoured.

Xemnas silently grit his teeth as he observed the members of his organisation act like mere children. There should only be one member acting like a child, which was currently the only child member. No, Zexion was too engrossed watching Marluxia pouring milk over a small bowl of cheerios and putting a silver spoon in his hand. The slate-haired child turned the spoon over in his hand, carefully looking into the shinning metal before putting it into his mouth. Marluxia hid a smile as he took the spoon from Zexion's mouth and put it in the cereal.

"Like this," he said quietly, demonstrating the simple procedure of putting cereal on a spoon. Slowly, he placed the spoon to Zexion's mouth and waited until he opened his mouth before pushing the spoon inside. Once Zexion had finished eating the first spoon, Marluxia handed the silver appliance back. "Now you try."

Zexion stared at the small wholegrain loops floating on his spoon. Slowly, he lifted the spoon higher, trying as hard as he could to keep a firm grip on it. This didn't last too long as he dropped the spoon in the cereal, milk spilling onto the table.

Marluxia shook his head as he sniggered softly, picking up his still steaming drink.

"Way to go, Zexion!" Demyx grinned excitedly, giving the child the thumbs up as a small reward for trying.

Roxas, having remained relatively quiet through the display, cringed inwardly whenever he saw Zexion spilling the milk on himself. True, he was ecstatically pleased that Zexion was wearing his beloved top. How when only last night the top had been too big? It matter very little. All Roxas knew was that Zexion was spilling more and more milk on the top and no one had even bothered to put a bib on the child. He shook his head. _Maybe next time..._

Xemnas had had enough and decided that the only way for everyone to acknowledge that the meeting had started ten minutes ago, was to shout. Whether that would actually work was a mystery to him, however, anything was worth a try.

"The meeting has started!" he bellowed, slamming his fist hard on the table.

Everyone looked up.

_Well what do you know – they listened!_

"As many of you will have noticed, Zexion is now a baby, which is the main reason I called this meeting on such short notice. Now, certain arrangements have already been made, however, I would like to know how this incident came about. Marluxia..."

Marluxia blew the coffee to cool it down before taking a drink. It really was the best coffee he had ever tasted in his non-existence, if that comment wasn't being too big-headed. The full-bodied aroma of the coffee caused him to exhale a sigh relaxation. It was a shame that the rich coffee was being tainted by the annoying sound of Xemnas' voice. Why couldn't the man just be quiet? He knew that it was Vexen that caused Zexion's 'minor' problem so why ask him?

"I'm afraid you will have to seek out Vexen to find your answer as to what happened to Zexion," he said in a clear voice with a large hint of indifference to it.

Vexen, hearing his name being mentioned followed by some form of fault, stopped mid step and slowly backed away from the door as he tried in vain to sneak away the kitchen that he tried so hard to sneak into. It was bad enough that he was late for the meeting, he grumbled. Now he was going to be reprimanded too!

"Vexen, I'm glad you could make it," Xemnas said, arms crossed as he sat up straight. He did not have to turn around to know that IV was attempting to sneak into the meeting. However, it was usually IX's job to sneak into the meeting late. _Never mind_, he decided.

The Academic groaned, rubbing his head to rid himself of the headache he knew he was going to endure later on. _Well, it's now or never_, he groaned to himself, taking a step forward. Funnily enough, taking that one step was proving to be more difficult that he had originally anticipated. Maybe it was due to the fact that everyone was staring at him; if was as if this was a class and he ran in late, only to be reprimanded by the strict teacher that preached the word of God to everyone who breathed.

"Sorry I am late, Superior," he muttered his apology, finishing the final few strides to his seat, however, stopping when he noticed something amiss. "Why have the seating arrangements changed?" he asked, noticing that Saix was currently occupying Zexion's seat.

"Had you been on time, you'd know the answer," Xemnas replied dryly.

Vexen nodded his head as he pulled his chair out; the shrill screech of the legs scrapping on the ground penetrated his ears, causing him to recoil slightly. Nevertheless, the blond-haired man sat down, turning his full attention to Xemnas. "Sorry I am late," he repeated. "I was doing some last minute research on Kingdom Hearts, which has led me to discover something I believe you'll find relatively interesting."

At the mere mention of Kingdom Hearts, Xemnas' head perked up. Kingdom Hearts to him was like Catnip to a cat. A smile graced his features. He was just that much closer to regaining his heart. They all were.

Vexen smiled inwardly. All he needed to mention was Kingdom Hearts and Xemnas would automatically forget about what was preoccupying his mind and concentrate, or was that day dream, on the infamous Kingdom Hearts. True, he had lied to his superior just to avoid trouble; however, this was a sacrifice he was willing to take.

"What is this situation that regards Zexion that, according Marluxia, is my fault?" he asked, stirring a spoon of honey into his camomile tea. He lifted the cup to his lips, inhaling the sweet fruity aroma. He could already feel the tension being released from his body, which helped clear his mind, especially when two cheerioes were being thrown in his direction. The stranger thing being that when he turned his head, Saix was the one brushing the cereal off his coat and onto Vexen.

"Perhaps if you looked up, that genius mind of yours might be able to find the fault without being informed first," Marluxia sneered. _He seems more irritable than usual_, Vexen noted.

Vexen looked up, carefully placing his cup down on one of the white mats, and what he saw caused his mind to momentarily close down. With his mouth open ajar and emerald eyes wide with shock, Vexen looked positively comical. However, this was not the time for amusements. Zexion was a baby. The cogs spun frantically inside his brain, quickly attempting to create an explanation as to why this was not a fault on his behalf. Surely there had to be another reason that could explain the situation._ Perhaps Zexion travelled to another world and consumed a magical apple that cursed him with the form of a baby?_ he wondered, mentally envisioning the wicked witch who had put blood, sweat and possibly everything else into creating the evil fruit. Yes, she was an evil looking hag: dark straggly hair that fell past her shoulders, small beady eyes that gleamed with an evil glimmer, a large hooked nose that was unnatural on a face so wrinkled, and finally a large mole with four grey hairs poking through. She truly was the embodiment of everything that was pure evil. The Bogeyman who stands outside and scratches on the window with razor-sharp nails in the dead of the night, hunting for children fending off sleep. The pair of big gleaming yellow eyes that stare at you from underneath the bed. The scaly red hand that slowly creeps out of the wardrobe, the long yellow nails scraping the paint and wood. _Yeah, she's a figment of my imagination – I'm doomed!_

"I'm assuming this is a direct result of that potion that was spilt on him?" he asked, leaning forward on his elbows.

Marluxia didn't reply to Vexen but, to be honest, the academic wasn't expecting one. "Well, this is unexpected," he muttered.

"Can you undo this abomination?" Xemnas asked.

Vexen interlinked his fingers in his hair as he lightly tugged on the strands. "Well, I'd have to examine Zexion and take a blood sample. Once I've gotten the results I will be able to tell you fully what going to happen and how I can reverse it."

Xemnas nodded. That was probably for the best...

"Stop throwing cheerios at me!" Saix growled suddenly, bearing his teeth like a rabid dog.

Zexion had rid himself of his spoon once he realised that it was too much of an inconvenience to hold, making sure that the food did not fall, and putting it into his mouth. He found it was much easier to put his hand in the milk and grab a handful of cheerios. On the odd occasion a cheerio would fall onto Marluxia's sleeve, where the mauve-haired man would subconsciously flick it away as he took a drink of his coffee. Other than that, Zexion was managing to feed himself perfectly well.

Everyone ignored Saix's outburst.

"If you pass Zexion over here I can get to work right away," Vexen said, drinking the rest of his tea before putting the cup down less than gentle.

Axel, having been quiet longer than usual, had been observing everything that had been happening and, once he had finished his sweet tea, decided to put his plan into action.

"Marluxia, I've had an epiphany and it requires a sacrifice on your behalf," he declared, grinning widely.

The assassin arched a fine brow, turning his attention to Axel, who he could see clearly over the top of Zexion. "What make you believe that I would even consider doing anything that would assist you?" he asked.

The redhead showed a row of pearly teeth, leaning back on his chair. "Because the results will be worthwhile."

"I very much doubt that."

"Marluxia, hug me."

If Marluxia was drinking at that moment, he would have either spat it out or started choking. If was a good thing he had finished drinking beforehand. What the hell is Axel on?

Axel leaned closer, the grin still plastered on his face.

"If you touch me Axel, I will have you put down," Marluxia muttered darkly, bright eyes narrowing as he shot a glare at the insane nobody.

"I need you to hug me," he said again. "When Zexion sees you hugging me, he'll think that it's a relatively normal thing to do." If possible, Axel's grin became wider, the glint in his eyes similar to that of sheer insanity, or mischief. "All we have to do when handing him over to Vexen is tell him to hug Saix. After his display yesterday he won't know what hit him – providing us with breakfast entertainment."

Marluxia rolled his eyes, shaking his head lightly. "For future reference, if you plan on doing something like this: don't tell everyone beforehand, especially the one who you plan on humiliating."

Axel shook his head, able to see Saix visibly shaking out of the corner of his eye. What from, he didn't know. "Yes, but now that he knows, he'll be constantly on edge all day. It's a brilliant plan, if I do say so myself."

Marluxia turned away from Axel. His coffee was gone, he noticed. It was disappointing, especially if he was to endure any more stupidity from certain nobodies. _This meeting is a waste of time_, he complained to himself, a mental imagine of himself making another cup of delicious coffee popped into his head. Maybe this was a sign that he needed more coffee to endure the meeting. No, there is only one more thing to do here.

He pushed himself from his chair and grabbed a hold of Zexion, not caring if the child had finished breakfast or not. He was perfectly aware that everyone was watching him; however, he frankly did not care. They could watch. If only proved how much time they had on their hands. He stopped walking when he reached Vexen and Saix. He stifled a grin when he saw the look that crossed Saix's face. _This was not the time for personal amusements_, he decided.

"Here," he said, dropping Zexion onto Vexen's lap. "A gift from me to you – no returns."

With that said, Marluxia decided that he was going to retreat to his room where he did not have to worry about sharing his time with a child. _Let that idiot, Vexen, deal with him..._

-

TO BE CONTINUED

NEXT CHAPTER: DAY TWO pt THREE

-

**_Author's Notes_**: Right ... well it's been quite some time, hasn't it? Well over a month. This chapter has been a complete bitch and I think it's more of the more serious chapter, considering there is still humour in it. Ah, who cares? Anywho: it was late because I'm having slight problems at work. 1st) I was told that there was a chance that I was going to be made redundant 2nd) 1 week after that I found out that I was being disciplined because I made a cock up that could cost me my job. I'm still trying to figure of HOW I made such a mistake. Anyway ... just thought I'd inform you. Oh yeah ... another reason is that I've entered a writing contest ... so yeah.

Right - Onto the fic. What I wanted to do in this chapter was give a little more into Luxord's character, because I believe I didn't do his character justice in the last chap. I also want to frequently have them use their powers and I'm still trying to get Luxord's into my head. I wanted him to do more with the cards other than trapping people inside. That's where I came up with the whole using his cards for cartomancy (fortune telling with playing cards). I honestly think that Luxord prob knows more than he lets on ... so I decided to have him make a small fortune telling with the cards. If none of you understood just tell me and I'll add a note with information, because I kinda ripped bits here and there - ya know, cartomancy and tarot reading.

This is the chap where Xaldin and Lexaeus make an appearance. A small one but they have been introduced. Everyone is now informed of the situation, even though the meeting didn't actually tell them anything. lol. They'll find out on their own ... everyone is going to have to contribute in looking after Zexion, whether they like it or not :D

Lastly, **Susumi** has done a fanart for me to go along with my fic. I'm so happy I could cry lol. So if any of you are on Deviant Art please go and check it out: http : // susumi-chan . deviantart . com / art / please-fall-again - 100418136

Sorry if the ending seems rushed ... I was just anxious to get it up tonight. I might revamp it later.

Right, lastly: personal thank yous:

To those who are new to the fic: welcome and I'm glad you're enjoying it:D Thanx for the reviews, they're all so nice.

**Totschafe** - Wow! You've read and reviewed my fic. This is an honor because I'm such a fan of your story. I'm glad that you appreciate the reviews I give. I'm constantly wary of what I put in reviews because one time someone asked me to give them a critical review: I did, they took offense, left the site. Anyway, hope you continue to enjoy the fic:D

**GetYerZexiOn** - A new fan to my deranged fic about baby Zexion. I'm so pleased you liked it so far. The fish thing in the last chapter was a spur of the moment thing and had me in stitches when I wrote it. It's always a good sigh lol. Thanks for the reviews.

**QuarantineVirus** - Thank you for the review. It's greatly appreciated and it made my day when you said that I was keeping the characters in characters. I'm constantly paranoid about that. I've read your fic but I havn't gotten around to reviewing yet: I will so keep watching :D

**Katherine-The-Crowned** - I'm glad you liked the last chap. The fish part was my fave. Honestly, I've had experiences with fish and I can't keep them alive. This is from REAL experiences lol. Thanks for the review :)

**Susumi** - My stalking buddy!! Yay! I'm glad that you enjoyed the chap ... I was my personal fave TBH. The fish part :D You like how I portrayed Larxene? Yay. I was wary with her because she is a bitch, and we all know it. But I couldn't bare myself to write anything that could be classified as child abuse lol. I blame the fact that I've worked with kiddies and did a uni course on it. Thank you once again for my fanart!! Hope you enjoyed the chap.

**One-Winged-Chaos** - Lol. Larxene is evil without being evil :D If you stab her, she'll stab you back - choice is yours, my friend.

**Valitiel** - There really should be different requirements to join Org XIII - other than the obvious ones lol. I think they should all sign a contract stating that from now on they will honor and obey Xemnas :D Thanks for the review!

**LupinandHarry** - Larxene would admit to killing poor Tim. She's mean. Thanx for the reviews, they made my day :)

**Sadist-Schemer** - Yay ... no hard feelings for me messing up your name? That's good lol. The fish thing was actually the highlight of that chap for me - so much fun to write too. I agree though: baby Zexion is so cute!!

**MuffinPirate** - I'd die of fright too if I were a human ball for Xigbar and Luxord to play with, but Zexion is a tough little cookie lol.

**KH and SN Fangirl** - Squee!! Thank you so so much. I'm glad you've enjoyed the fic so far and I hope this chap doesn't disappoint.

**thegreatwhitewolf** - I wholeheartedly agree with you. I actually do think that Marluxia would make a good leader. I was looking on the net at one of his profiles, so I had a bit more to go on, and while it said that Marluxia didn't have too many good qualities lol those that he does have are. This was taken directly from the site: _Even though most of Marluxia's personality traits are negative, he does have a few positive aspects. Some of these include his devotion and persistence to succeed in his goals. He's a very adamant member of Organization XIII, and in his eyes he probably deserves much more respect than he's given. All in all, Marluxia is a very egotistical, and manipulative member of the organization who would stop at nothing to overthrow the organization and become superior._ So yeah ... I think he'd make a good leader. Thanks for the reviews, they really do make my day (im not just saying that lol). I'm happy that you don't hate Larxene in my fic ... I'm trying to have her acting like a bitch, but in a better way I guess. I'm still experimenting with characters though, due to this being my 1st KH fic.

Wow, that was seriously long winded. If I have failed to mention any other names: Sorry. I do appreciate you all :D

Thank you once again and hope to see you for the next chap

Bye-de-bye

Bexii xx


	8. Day Two part 3

17 DAYS OF HELL

A Kingdom Hearts fanfiction

Kingdom Hearts is property of Square Enix and Disney

This fanfiction is purely for entertainment – please do not get offended

Enjoy…

-- DAY TWO –-

1 – 2 Years Old

**_This chapter is dedicated to three people:_**

**_Akurai Siren:_**

_She asked me a while back whether she could draw up my fic, which I immediatly said yes to. So, I would appreciate it if you could all check out her doujinshi and leave her comments. She is already on page 6 and her artwork is stunning. Her Deviant ID is: Forbidden-Siren http:// forbidden-siren. deviantart .com/art/17-Days-of-Hell-Pg01-108065006 (remove spaces)_

**_Muffin-Pirate:_**

_She has done a fanart for the fic. It's brilliant and makes me laugh everytime I see it. Like before, please leave comments for her. Her Deviant ID is: SparrowandLegolas http:// sparrowandlegolas. deviantart .com/art/17-Days-of-Hell-105061327 (remove spaces)_

**_Susumi:_**

_She too has drawn a fanart for me and I have to say it's so cute. I squee everytime because it's just overcome with uber cuteness! Her Deviant ID is: Susumi-Chan http:// susumi-chan. deviantart. .com/art/please-fall-again-100418136 (remove spaces)_

_Thank you, guys!_

-DAY TWO-

Vexen groaned as he slammed his head three times on the counter before dropping down with a light bang. He clenched his eyes closed and listened to the various sounds that inhibited his lab: Steve swimming around in his gigantic tank, Philip swinging left to right on his magnetic perch, Pauline crawling over the shiny surface, her white metal feet lightly tapping the ground, Zexion furiously stuffing chocolate chip cookies in his mouth.

"Thank God that I had that packet of cookies stashed away in the bottom drawer," Vexen mumbled.

After Marluxia had 'gently' handed Zexion over to him, he had decided that it was probably best to get to work as soon as physically possibly. He could have taken his time with breakfast, sipping his camomile tea whilst completing the crossword and partaking in an intellectual conversation with Lexaeus and Xaldin. He could have listened with open interest as Xigbar tells the story of his eye-patch. Watched as Axel and Larxene fought over the last piece of toast, teeth bared as the female thrust a kunai into the centre of the toast, only millimetres away from Axel's fingers.

Alas, he did not choose to do the above. Work was important. It was essential to find the remedy for Zexion's little problem. It was NOT due to the booming voice of Marluxia shouting from the other room that if he cherished his afterlife he would get a move on with the remedy as soon as possible.

Taking a blood sample from Zexion had proven to be more problematic than he had originally anticipated. He had not considered that the physics of drawing blood, through the means of injecting a needle into a vein, could possibly be daunting for anyone. It was essential. There was no doubt about it – Zexion needed a blood test.

From the moment Vexen had brought out a sterilised needle, Zexion began to stare at him with wary eyes. He followed the Academic's every movement, not letting his eyes leave the blond for one second. Once Vexen wiped Zexion's arm with antiseptic liquid, the child began to panic and roughly fought his way from Vexen. Vexen, being the strong nobody that he was, was no match for the grip that Zexion had on his hair. How was he supposed to administer the blood test if Zexion refused to cooperate?

"Let ... go..." Vexen muttered through clenched teeth, pulling Zexion away from his hair.

Zexion refused to listen to what the blond-haired man said. How would this torture devise possibly benefit him? Was there any purposed for the large needle? Was this the blond-haired man's revenge for him being sick on his lap. It wasn't his fault. Maru threw him down too fast and heavy! He had only just finished his breakfast – what did he expect?

"It's ... for ... the ... best..."

Had anyone walked in at this particular moment, they would have witnessed the amusing sight of Zexion holding onto Vexen's hair for dear life while the academic roughly pulled at the child, wincing as several strands were ripped out. It would have been such an amazing sight to behold.

Yes, it was such a shame that Lexaeus decided that now was the ideal time to pay Vexen a visit. He stood, silently of course, at the entrance and gazed at the obscure scene that played out in front of him. The only indicator that this had any effect on him was the slight (very slight) widening of his narrow eyes.

"Let go or else," Vexen threatened, his voice dropping several pitches. He took three steps forward before turning quickly on the spot, holding Zexion as far away as possible – anything to loosen the baby's power grip. This was turning into a disaster. Nothing could possibly be any worse...

"Vexen?" Lexaeus said quietly from the doorway, causing Vexen to recoil in sudden shock.

The long-haired man nearly dropped the child when he heard his name being mentioned inside the large lab. Last he had checked no-one was in the area except Zexion and himself. How had Lexaeus managed to sneak into the lab completely unnoticed? _That man really does live up to his alias_, Vexen thought, looking in the same direction as the Silent Hero. _I need to say something highly intelligent that will cause Lexaeus to forget what he witnessed_, he decided.

"We were playing 'Pull my Hair'," he laughed sheepishly. _Or I could just ignore what my brain is telling me to do_...

Lexaeus arched a brow, firmly crossing his arms as he penetrated Vexen with a long, hard stare. "Is Zexion causing you grief?" he asked. "Or perhaps it is the other way around?"

"Hardly," Vexen said. He wanted to simply throw Zexion to the ground but feared that he would follow shortly after. "I am simply trying to administer a blood test," he explained calmly, almost as if the ruckus had never occurred.

Lexaeus walked towards Vexen and looked at Zexion in an almost fatherly way, which, as deranged as it may seem, caused Zexion to lessen his hold. Perhaps it was the fact that Lexaeus' smile was less daunting that Vexen's and Zexion knew that this new addition (in Zexion's eyes at least, due to the fact that he meet the Silent Hero last at the breakfast table) would not get a high from stabbing him several times over with a sharp needle.

Vexen scowled as he witnessed Lexaeus take Zexion without so much of a mini struggle. How come Zexion was acting this way? Had the substance caused all of his brain cells to deteriorate? The Schemer was supposed to be reserved and somewhat of a nuisance when things don't go according to his plan – not some happy-go-lucky (dare he say it?) brat with slight abandonment/attachment issues and no sense of character judgement. _Take preferring Marluxia over me, for example_...

"He doesn't know any better," Lexaeus said, using the same tone that he used for giving out his rare, long-winded speeches.

Vexen arched a brow as he turned his attention fully to Lexaeus. How had the other known what he was thinking? Surely Lexaeus wasn't that in-tune with the fabricated feelings that they portrayed?

"Babies are naturally selfish beings. They are born completely helpless, unable do anything for themselves. Babies are completely dependent on their adult caregivers for survival. It is normal for babies to cry, and babies will cry for many reasons. A baby might cry to let you know they are hungry or thirsty, needs a nappy change, needs to be cuddled, doesn't feel well, or is sleepy. A baby might also cry to release tension. They strive and yearn for affection of those who they feel will provide them with love, warmth and security.

"So, in turn, Zexion is acting in the only way he knows. Just because he favours Marluxia, well, not necessarily favours I guess, is because he gets attention," Lexaeus said, his voice filled with pride at his hypothesis on babies. What was the point of knowing information and not sharing it?

Vexen shook his head as he threw the needle into the small bin under the desk. He was almost ashamed to admit that he had not thoroughly thought this idea through. He needed but a small drop of blood to perform his analysis, not a full vial. For a genius, he felt rather idiotic at the moment. _We are all entitled to those days I guess... Or maybe the reason behind my mistake is due to the fact that I know nothing at all about babies_. There was no reason to either. The organisation is composed to adult (minus Roxas) nobodies who will never need to interact with a small child. _Until now_...

The blond man looked up when he heard Zexion giggle softly. This was the opportunity he had been waiting for. He carefully picked up a small pin and a glass slide. Zexion was distracted enough for him to quickly collect his sample.

"No, I agree that Zexion favours Marluxia," he begrudgingly admitted. "It's obvious to anyone with eyes." He held the needle for Lexaeus to see what he intended to do.

"Perhaps it is not Marluxia that he feels drawn to but his scent," the redhead replied, gently pressing his fingers to Zexion's nose, who laughed happily.

Vexen tenderly pierced the skin on Zexion's heel, quickly pressing the glass slide to collect the droplets of blood. "I don't believe I follow," he sighed gingerly.

Lexaeus continued to distract Zexion. "Well, Zexion has a heightened sense of smell and he has commented several times that each member has a unique scent. If I remember correctly, he briefly spoke of Marluxia's scent and how it was strangely calming and reminded him of something that he could not put his finger on. Maybe that's the reasoning behind Zexion's attachment to Marluxia..."

"I think I remember him saying that he did not wish to be the one to inform Marluxia that he smelt like a pansy," Vexen sneered, the corners of his lips curing into a light smile.

"Pansies smell delicate. I really cannot imagine Marluxia smelling like a delicate flower."

Vexen arched a brow, laughing heartily at the comment. He was uncertain whether it was the actual comment or the way in which Lexaeus had said it, using a low, deadpan voice. Nonetheless, it was doing nothing to abolish the scene that played out inside his mind. Marluxia dressed as an overgrown fuchsia flower with a healthy green stem. He skipped down the empty corridor, a Princess Peach plush in one arm and a struggling Moogle in the other, singing at the top of his lungs:

"_Roses are red,_

_Violets are blue,_

_I love flowers;_

_They're pretty too_."

He placed his hand across his mouth to stifle the laugher.

"I have a hypothesis myself in regards to the situation," he replied, carefully placing the glass slide on his desk. He would throw himself fully into his work and not rest until he found the answers he sought. "It is similar to that of a duckling," he continued, handing a chocolate chip cookie to Zexion, who took the biscuit and began nibbling around the edge. Not everyone knew this, but Vexen was a secret cookie monster. He could go days without merging from the lab, living on nothing but the sweet treat. There had been times where smuggling five packets of cookies into the lab was difficult, however, no one ever suspected that he was the one eating them all – Demyx and Larxene were to blame. Then again, all the sugar in the worlds could not make that woman sweet.

"The process of imprinting?" Lexaeus asked, watching as his coat fell victim to the evil cookie crumbs.

"Yes. As you know a duckling imprints on the first image it sees moving, usually the mother. They follow and become attached to that figure. It is essential for ducklings to be able to immediately recognise their parents because of the many threats that can occur after hatching. Thus, imprinting is important for both social development and survival. It's instinct. Perhaps that is what has happened here."

Lexaeus looked up, focused fully on his blond colleague.

"I'm assuming (my assumptions are usually 99.9% correct) that Marluxia was the first being that Zexion had contact with because he was not like this when I left. Depending on what occurred after that, I believe, played an important role in Zexion process and development. Maybe, for some deluded reason, Zexion feels (ironically) safe and secure with a psychopath with luscious and bouncy hair, a tendency to be slightly power-driven and nobody who wouldn't understand the meaning of the word 'respect' if it came and danced on his nose."

"Maybe you are right, my friend," Lexaeus laughed heartily. "Maybe you are right..."

...So, several hours later, here he was: head down on the desk, long hair spilling everywhere, arms lying limply at his sides. Lexaeus had long since taken Zexion off his hands, which was a huge relief for Vexen. It meant that he could really get his head around the situation. The blood sample, which lay underneath a microscope, was the beginning for a nightmare. The first thirty minutes of his examination had been him staring into the magnified lens and seeing nothing of grave importance. The blood, in reality, had told him nothing...

That was a lie. It did tell him something. According to the blood sample, Zexion was physically healthy and as normal as normal goes in a nobody's afterlife. It left him no other choice. He opened a fresh packet of cookies and dunked them in his tea as he thought back to what he had observed. That was the key, he believed.

"I wonder who will be the first to make an attempt on my life when I inform them of my observational findings?" he pondered, cookie hanging from his mouth.

He heaved a deep sigh as he devoured the cookie and pushed himself from the chair, walking slowly towards the exit, dragging his feet as his body was made of lead which was too heavy to carry.

As Vexen made his way up several flights of stairs, the sound of crying greeted him. _What is all the commotion about_? he wondered idly, seeing a large majority of the organisation standing in the corridor.

"He won't stop crying," Demyx complained, sounding very close to tears himself. He held Zexion close to him, rubbing his back in hopes that it would sooth the crying child. Obviously, it did not.

"Would you shut that brat up!" Larxene shouted as she emerged from the room next to the room everyone was standing outside of. "Throw him out of the window if you have to – I. Don't. Care."

The young nobody took a tentative step back as Larxene made it perfectly clear that she was not impressed. She was trying to have some alone time where she could enjoy her secret hobby: writing the ultimate romantic thriller where everyone dies and the killer is the least expected person: a priest who claimed it was God who made him rape and slaughter all those 'innocent' women. They were evil and needed to die. End of story.

"He's been crying nonstop for the past twenty minutes," Axel said quietly, arms crossed tightly as he leaned on the far wall. He nudged his head to the left. "Even Roxas here could stop him."

"I think he misses Marluxia," Demyx stated. "But he won't answer the door..."

"Have you tried opening the door and walking in?" she asked, voice dripping with sarcasm. Demyx really was too much of a wimp her likings.

"That would be an invasion of privacy," he replied, shocked that Larxene would even suggest such a thing.

The female arched a brow and looked over to Axel, who shrugged his shoulders, his eye brimming with confusion. Right then. She held up her hand and shook her head in disgust. "You're all a bunch of pathetic girls. In fact you're _worse_ – you give girls, like me, a bad name!"

Everyone watched in complete silence as the angry female forced the door open and stormed inside. Demyx slowly turned his head, noticing that more people had come to witness the possible spectacular show. However, it didn't stop Zexion's crying. He felt so sorry for the baby...

"Larxene! What the hell-"

*CRASH*

"I know you weren't sleeping-"

*BANG*

"I was lying in bed – eyes closed. What do you call THAT?"

*WALLOP*

"Stop being a baby – you're up now anyway."

It all happened so fast that Demyx didn't realise that Larxene had exited the room and snatched Zexion from his arms. She didn't hold the baby close to her, nor did she hold him at arm's length either. If Demyx didn't know any better, he would have thought that Zexion had grown on her. How silly...

"Larxene!" Marluxia growled as he emerged from his room, wet hair clinging to the sides of his face, coat completely soaked, water trailing down his back, slicking his skin.

"Here," she smiled cynically, thrusting Zexion into Marluxia's arms.

_Seriously, this kid is like a boomerang. Why does he keep on coming back? What have I done to deserve such_ torment...

As to be expected, Zexion stopped crying. Maybe seeing Marluxia resembling a drowned rat reminded him of Roxas' misfortune yesterday. Ah, that was a fun day...

The mauve-haired man narrowed his eyes. He was in the mood to kill something.

Vexen decided that this was the perfect time to lighten the mood and inform the others of his findings. "I believe I have found something interesting in regards to Zexion's situation."

Marluxia turned his attention to Vexen. "Go on," he said slowly.

"I'm just going to come right out and say it: there is no cure for Zexion."

Everyone simultaneously gasped.

"He's going to be a baby forever?" Demyx panicked.

Vexen shook his head. He really did not want to spend hours explaining several times what was happening.

"Basically, to cut a long story short, Zexion is aging at a rapid rate. I've been observing him closely and this only confirmed my analysis. Now, from what I have been told, Zexion was a baby when this happened yesterday, however, if you look at him now he is clearly older than one. In fact, he looks closer to two years old," he explained, assessing the reactions of everyone. They were quiet and it seemed as if the information was sinking deep into their minds.

"Spit it out!" Larxene snapped, twirling the kunai between her fingers. They were ready to throw at the nearest head.

Vexen nodded. "Zexion will age one year each day until he reaches his designated age."

Marluxia had had enough. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Surely there had to be some mistake.

"Seventeen? Seventeen days? We have to put up with _this_ for seventeen days??" he barked, glaring his disgust.

"Technically, its sixteen days," Vexen laughed, scratching the back of his head. It was worth it to torment Marluxia like this.

"Seventeen days of hell?" Marluxia said dejectedly. "Kill me now..."

"That can be arranged," Larxene smiled sickly sweet, taking a small step forward as she showed Marluxia her kunai.

-

TO BE CONTINUED

NEXT CHAPTER: DAY THREE

-

**Edit: I actually re-read this chapter and I never realised how boring it was ... not very funny. I apologise - I promise for more happy laughter next chap :D**

**-**

**_Author's Notes_**: Okay, three months later and I finally upload. I was originally going to upload this on December 22 because it was my birthday; however, I fell out with Vexen lol. It really is possible to fall out with a fictional character. He didn't think I was doing his character justice so I had to seriously modify it. I hope I've managed to portray him as intelligent yet slightly funny.

Anywho, I apologise for taking so long. A lot has happened in the last few months. I've finally gotten myself a BJD, so she's taking up my time. I've also gotten a new obsession: Super Smash Brawl. I've decided that I'm completely in love with Pit and Red, who didn't even warrant and name in the game! So that will be my next project when I finish this lol.

I know that I usually respond to my reviewers but there were too many! I'm actually shocked with how many reviews I got for the last chap. So I just want to thank you all for leaving my positive feedback and I hope this chapter lives up to your expectation!

Thank you once again and hope to see you for the next chap

Bye-de-bye

Bexii xx


	9. Day Three

17 DAYS OF HELL

A Kingdom Hearts fanfiction

Kingdom Hearts is property of Square Enix and Disney.

This fanfiction is purely for entertainment – please do not get offended.

Enjoy…

-- **DAY THREE** –-

2–3 Years Old

-

-

Marluxia groaned as he lightly draped his arm over his face to shield his eyes from whatever it was that caused them to twitch. The soft pillow assisted in lessening his headache; however, his ears were still sensitive enough to hear the noises that filled his room, and his head, with annoyance. It wasn't a large noise. On the contrary, it was something small that shouldn't bother him so much. Normally such noises wouldn't annoy him, but today the noises persisted. It was only a matter of time before...

"Zexion, the fish will die if you keep taking it out of its bowl!" he snapped.

...Too late...

Upon hearing Marluxia's voice shouting at him, Zexion immediately dropped the squirming goldfish, a.k.a. Marluxia, into the bowl of water. He looked over and saw that Marluxia's arms still covered his eyes. How did he know that he was playing with the fish anyway? He wasn't making that much noise...

He poked the bowled and laughed every time the fish swam away from him.

"Maru! Maru! Maru!" he giggled, splashing the top of the water.

"What do you want?" Marluxia groaned loudly as he forced himself up. The bed was so much more comfortable. Maybe he should just lie back down?

"It's Maru!" he said, pointing at the bowl.

"No, that's just a fish..."

Zexion shook his head so hard that he nearly fell off his chair. He reached inside the bowl again but this time, instead of grabbing the fish, he pointed to the purple castle, which had the name 'Marluxia' engraved into it.

"Mar-lux-a," he said happily, stressing each syllable, just as he had remembered a certain somebody do not so long ago. "Marlux'a is Maru! Fish is Maru too..."

Marluxia arched a brow, realising that he was looking visibly stunned. He certainly was thankful that the only witness to this is two years old – or whatever age he was now. I think I have just been out witted by a child, he thought to himself. While it was true that he had argued with Zexion about the pronunciation of his name, he never, for one moment, imagined that it would actually have an effect. It meant only one thing...

"If you know how to pronounce my name then stop calling me 'Maru' (it sounds stupid)!" he said, raising his voice in a dignified manner.

Zexion merely smiled and laughed.

"Na-ah," the child replied, taking his hand fully out of the water.

Marluxia wondered what was going through Zexion's head because it was clearly obvious that the child was smirking and somehow patronising him. He's laughing at my expense – how dare he!

Then again...

Perhaps it was all just one big misunderstanding and Zexion, not being of sound state of mind, did not realise who he was dealing with. If that were indeed the case, then Marluxia was willing to overlook the situation.

He stared at the child until he was sure of how he would render the situation...

...Unfortunately, that did no good. The situation had not changed, thus Marluxia was not willing to overlook that fact that he currently did not like the way in which a child belittled him. Well, not belittle per say – more like grating on every last one of my nerves!

During his internal conversation of 'life' he failed to notice that Zexion had climbed down from the chair and was now making his way over to the door – walking. It was only when he heard the sound of jars falling over that he took the time to stop talking to himself and start completing his assignment.

"What are you doing?" he asked, curiosity gnawing away at him.

Zexion was currently in the process of knocking several flower pots over; blissfully unaware of the glare Marluxia shot at him as he turned the pots upside down, stacking them next to the door. Looking down at the mess on the floor, Zexion stopped what he was doing and stepped back. Was all that dirt on the floor his fault? Surely not...

All thoughts pushed aside, Zexion stepped on the flower pots and stretched as high as he could, gripping the door handle and pulling it down. With the door now unlatched, the child slid down and shuffled off the pot.

"Shut the door behind you," Marluxia said, lying back down on the bed. For some reason, from the moment he woke up, he was physically exhausted. Last night, like the one the night before, had been hell. Actually, thinking back, he was unsure whether it had been that hellish...

-

It was late.

He was tired...

And irritable....

Furthermore, the fact that he could part with Zexion for a few hours brought a small smile to his face.

It had been a long day and the old saying of 'you learn something new every day' certainly applied to him. Yes, he discovered a lot about Zexion in just one day. He learnt that the child refused to eat anything other than cheerios and small chunks of mild (yellow not red) cheese, and he preferred blackcurrant juice over orange. He also recalled the disgusted expression that crossed his own face when he witnessed Zexion adding several chunks of cheese to the cereal, pouring the juice into the milk, and proceeding to eat.

_Are all children this disgusting?_ he wondered. Then again, he remembered reading a paragraph in that book that Roxas had given him about children exploring the environment through touch and whatnot. What had it said?

'_Infants and young children learn about the environment and the world around them by touching thing and putting them into their mouths._

_Most children eat unusual things such as dirt, sand and snails a few times, but grow to learn that these things don't taste nice and eventually stop eating them. Many children chew on things such as wooden toys and the wooden rails of their cots. They may go on like this for some time, but they usually stop this behaviour eventually._

_However, some children continue to eat the things that are not foods. This type of behaviour, known as 'Pica', may be an indication that the child may have a developmental, behavioural, and emotional or health problem...'_

Either there was something seriously wrong with the way Zexion was developing or everything was fine, and he was developing like an ordinary child. He chose the latter, as it involved less effort on his part. He was entitled to be selfish some of the time. Okay, all of the time. However, when one has no heart, what is to be expected?

Nevertheless, Zexion was having the time of his short year (long day to everyone else) experimenting with various things, most of which ending up in his mouth. Demyx dotted on the child, providing cheese and cheerios whenever Zexion cried for them. Luxord and Xigbar tried to teach him poker, using cheese as wagers. Roxas spent the majority of the time telling Axel to leave Zexion alone, especially considering the red-haired nobody was determined to prove that if Marluxia could it, then so could he. Larxene, whenever she walked past, muttered about Tim and how she could use Zexion as his replacement whenever she was bored.

Marluxia saw this as the perfect opportunity to slip out of the room, not looking back once as he ascended the glorious white steps of freedom. There were six individuals with Zexion, so there wasn't really any question of whether he would be alright. Then again, whether those individuals were competent was a completely different story.

-

Roxas watched carefully as Marluxia walked out of the room and wondered just how long it would take Zexion to realise that the other had left. It was slightly awe-inspiring how attached Zexion was to Marluxia, especially considering the fact that neither nobodies were particularly fond of one another to begin with. Maybe Zexion saw something that none of the others could?

_But why though?_ he wondered. _Why does Zexion hold such high regards towards Marluxia – of all people? It makes no sense whatsoever_...

He knew that children were classified as completely pure beings from the moment they were born, according to '_The Preacher Man's Guide to Life'_, untouched by the sin and temptations that corrupted the word. However, to actually witness this miracle first hand made him somewhat credulous towards Preacher Man's words. Maybe Preacher Man wasn't as full of crap as Vexen claimed.

"I wonder whether anyone has actually wondered how this problem is really going to affect us?" Xaldin spoke aloud, not looking from his copy of '_Lord of the Rings'_. He never tired of reading how one little ring could corrupt the hearts and minds of so many people. The notion always brought a smile to his face, and he would find himself subconsciously reciting paragraphs to himself before he drifted off to sleep.

_When had he gotten here?_ Roxas briefly wondered.

"I think it will be the ultimate test for the Organisation," Axel replied gravely, which caused the others to stop and look in his direction. "We're down by two members, one of which happens to be in the elite of the brains and the other is Marluxia (obviously). Now, because we are down to only eleven members, that automatically leaves us weakened by default. Zexion is the loose link in the almost impenetrable chain. He probably has no idea who, or what he is."

"Where exactly are you going with this, Axel?" Xaldin asked, his love for the one ring being pushed aside for Axel's words.

A small smile crept across Axel's features as he leaned forward, resting his chin on his clasped hands. "I'm saying that should Zexion fall into the hands of the enemy, the next apocalypse will arrive sooner than expected. The end is nigh, my friends," he laughed.

Xaldin thought for a moment, taking the time to fully digest the meaning of Axel's words. "The keybearer..." he trailed off.

"You could say that," Axel said, looking around slowly. "We all know that Zexion's abilities have much more that a humour based purpose. He has to have a strong mind in order to completely wield such powers without overwhelming himself. I don't know about any of you, but I for one wouldn't wish to be on the receiving end of those illusional powers – if you get my drift?"

The gravity of those words lingered heavy in the atmosphere, deeply rooted within the minds of all those present and coiled fully around the subconscious. No one attempted to break the deafening silence until Demyx held onto Zexion's hand and grinned widely.

"It's a good thing Marluxia is looking after you then, isn't it Zexion?" he beamed happily.

Seeing the bright smile and cheerful glint in the blond's eyes caused Zexion to giggle and bounce on the spot. Had Demyx not had a gentle grip on his hands, Zexion would have clapped along with the giggles.

Demyx laughed as he scooped Zexion up into his arms. "I'm going to take you to Marluxia so you won't be kidnapped by evil keybearers, demonic ducks and satanic anthropomorphic dogs!"

The blond nobody continued to laugh alongside Zexion, practically skipping as he spun on the spot and rushed out the door, squealing, "You're so cute!" as he left.

"I haven't seen the kid this giddy since that damn fish," Xigbar sniggered as he 'accidently' knocked Luxord's cards from his hand. "Sorry bout that," he smirked. He could have sworn he heard something that resembled a growl leave the bearded man's lips, which only fuelled his laugher.

-

Demyx banged on the white door.

"Marluxia!" he yelled in a sing-song voice, which could have been the reason he didn't get a response from the other. "Marluxia, I've got a present for you," he tried.

"If it's small, horrid and goes by the name of Zexion, then you'll have to take it back!" came the haughty response.

Demyx blinked and he stared at the door. Marluxia really was difficult at times...

"Don't worry, Zexion," he said in a calm voice, full of reassurance. "He didn't mean it – Marluxia loves you really! He's a big softy deep down..."

Within seconds, the door was forced open and Marluxia's face was inches away from Demyx's, piercing blue eyes narrowed and the corners of his mouth turned down with ire. "What did you just say?" he snarled.

To be honest, Demyx was surprised that Marluxia hadn't already drawn his scythe and forced the sharp blade to his throat. Either he wasn't that angry with the comment, or he was so angry that his first instinct was to confront the insulter and slowly strangle every breath from him...

This was the main reason he couldn't read Marluxia as well as some of the others – he constantly changed the way he reacted to things, keeping everyone constantly on their toes...

He had to rescue his neck from the fate he imagined.

"See," he smiled, looking down at Zexion. "If he didn't care, then he wouldn't have rushed out to see you as quickly as he did."

He wasn't the expert at wounding Marluxia's pride, but he would certainly give it his best shot!

"He's only pretending to be angry," he told Zexion, who surprised him by pulling a handful of Marluxia's hair. Furthermore, what surprised him most was the fact that Marluxia had done nothing about said hair-puller.

"Oh, I'm angry alright," the assassin growled, roughly snatching Zexion from Demyx's loose grip. "Leave now!" he demanded, quickly pointing in the direction he wished Demyx to disappear to.

The blond laughed gingerly as he ran a hand softly through his hair and backed off slowly. Something was telling him that he had not succeeded in wounding Marluxia's pride...

"Bye, Zexion!" he yelled as he began to run down the corridor, not looking back to see if Zexion acknowledged his leave.

_Phew, that was a close one_, he thought. The last thing he needed was to get into a fight with Marluxia because he was fully aware that the other could be rather cruel when he was angry. He had witnessed it many times when Vexen and Axel had gotten on the wrong side of him, and he would be the first to admit that he felt severely sorry for both.

Too caught up in his own thoughts, Demyx tripped and fell to the ground with a heavy thump. He gently rubbed his head and cursed his bad luck. _Man, what did I trip over?_ he wondered and stole a glance over his shoulder. His eyes widened as he saw a thick green vine weave itself around his legs and slowly creep up his body. Before he had the chance to do anything, Demyx felt himself being forcibly dragged across the floor and hoisted towards the ceiling.

"Marluxia!" he shouted, noticing the mauve-haired man leaning on the wall. He swallowed, even upside-down he clearly saw the steely glint in Marluxia's eyes and the sinister smile that flit across his features. "Let me down – I'll pass out if you leave me like this..."

If he had hoped to soften Marluxia features with the guilt speech, he was sorely mistaken.

"That's the general idea, Demyx," Marluxia replied darkly, sneering at the other's attempts to struggle free.

_Being in this organisation does have its perks after all_, he sniggered to himself as he turned his back on the other and walked back into his room...

-

Actually, thinking back, it hadn't been that dull of a night. "You'd think they would realise the reason why I keep so many plants across the castle," he laughed. No one questioned why he did it; they just accepted it as one of his strange traits.

"Idiots," he sneered, shaking his head as he looked over to his door. Zexion had not closed it, which meant that he would have to move in order to gain his privacy.

"Great," he muttered, unable to find the will to move. "Just bloody great..."

-

TO BE CONTINUED

NEXT CHAPTER: DAY THREE PART TWO

-

**_Author's Notes_**:

Okay, I finally managed to finish this chapter and upload it after a few months. To be honest, I was rather naughty and completely abandoned this for the whole of March and April because I lost my job, which threw me into a bit of a complete shut-down lol. Also, it doesn't help that I've been told to stop writting because I'm dyslexic and obviously can't do anything in regards to written English - seriously, what century do some people live in? This is a hobby, which I enjoy. I'm not going to throw it away because one person doesn't agree with me! Besides, I don't think my writing is that bad lol.

Anywho, hopefully I didn't confuse anyone with the chapter, considering the fact that most of it is everyone thinking back to what happened the previous night ... I really don't want to have to italicise everything in order to show it's a 'flashback' lol. Moving on though, I decided to give Demyx a bigger role in this chapter because he's too darn cute for his own good lol.

Hmm, for once I actually don't have much to say in regards to the chapter, except the fact that I've spend the majority of a month analysing Marluxia. There's always one character that draws you in - I think it's my subconscious need to defend him from being called a 'flaming homo' lol.

Right, onto the thank yous:

**Kawii-Neko-Neko-Chan** - thanks and the wait wasn't that long for you :)  
**Reno-is-a-Turk** - yup, baby (well, he will grow lol) Zexion for 16/15 days. What have I gotten myself into?  
**BishiZexi** - thank you soooo much :)  
J**esusRox7111** - Thanks for the review ^_^  
**Lenne** - I have no problems writing Zexion as 7 ... but it's the teens I'm fearing :S  
**BrokenAnzaran** - yup, I read the manga ... it was a good laugh ^_^  
**PharaohDeli** - Thank you so much for the fanart. Everyone look at it: http://pharaohdeli. deviantart. com/art/Vexen-s-Imagination-114486471 ^_^  
**snowymountains56** - I like laughing at Marluxia's misery also.  
**KabutoRockz** - Thank you so much for the review :)  
**GetYerZexiOn** - Larxene can get away with anything because she's kick ass! lol. I might just be biased because I'm female and so is she :D  
**Griffin Alchemist** - Brawl is excellent. I'm a Pitt fan tbh lol  
**Akilina-chan** - I dun wanna write Zexion as a teen :S ... someone else wanna write it for me???  
**Katherine-The-Crowned** - I'm glad that I managed to write Vexen well :) He's another one of those than can be a bitch to write  
**Totschafe** - Zexion is uber cute! I'd trade him in for my own brother anyday lol. Oh, I'm glad you updated your fic: it was great :D  
**pride1289** - Smash is excellent, I agree. Friend codes? How do I do that? I'm certain that I'm not using the wii to its full potential lol  
**WinterdustDreams** - I so think that Vexen is a cookie monster lol. Hmm, what would Zexion do if Marluxia died ... hmm ...  
**MuffinPirate** - :D He's so the cookie monster!!!  
**Akarui Siren** - thanks for the review and I'm so loving the doujin you're doing for the fic. I love LOVE how you draw Marluxia. I DEMAND EVERYONE CHECK IT OUT!! I think the link is in her profile - go NOW! :D  
**thegreatwhitewolf** - I'm glad that the chapter managed to make your bad day a little bit better. Hope everything turned out ok for you. Maybe I'm giving Zexion a bit of a hair fetish because he seems to love pulling hair lol. Thanks for the review anyway.

Right ... enjoy :D

Bexii


	10. Day Three Part 2

17 DAYS OF HELL

A Kingdom Hearts fanfiction

Kingdom Hearts is property of Square Enix and Disney.

This fanfiction is purely for entertainment – please do not get offended.

Enjoy…

--** DAY THREE **–-

2–3 Years Old

The world is your oyster. A simple saying that was crafted by a simple poet/playwright who went by the name of William Shakespeare. That simple poet/playwright went on to become somewhat of a legend amongst many today. Creating breathtaking play after breathtaking play, Shakespeare's inspirational words travelled across the worlds, shaping the minds of many, young and old. Despite the unfortunate destruction of England (the world where Shakespeare was from), his words and ideals remain as prominent in everyday life as bread and water. One saying, the world is your oyster, still remains and is precisely adequate in describing Zexion at this particular moment. The world was his oyster. In fact, it was his oyster so much that he was in oyster heaven, playing amongst all the other oyster lovers in the world.

At two and a half years old, Zexion was currently the happiest toddler in the world(s). There was plenty to see and do, lots to explore, and many new people to meet. Granted, some of the people he had met so far were a tad strange. Nevertheless, they kept him amused and in high spirits, so all was good. In was a shame that there was no one else like him because sometimes it was as if no one could understand him. Seriously, how hard was it to know that he was hungry and needed someone to drop everything to get him food? Were they really that intellectually impaired? Or deaf. Either way, it annoyed him at times.

Maybe that was the reason why he was walking down the corridor on his own. Even if he tried to tell them what he wanted, no one could understand. Well, Maru knew but his erratic behaviour (yes, even a two-year-old could tell) put somewhat of a barrier between the two. It was almost as if he deliberately detached himself from Zexion, leaving the room without him, ignoring the pleas for attention and expecting that red-haired idiot to watch him. Then again, if that truly were the case, why would he go to all that effort in helping him with things, watching over him at night and taking care of things that Zexion was (not by choice, of course) unable to do by himself. His behaviour confused him. It really was as simple as that. It was almost like-

His eyes widened.

It was almost like he was two people trapped inside one body. It was so obvious that Zexion wondered why he had not picked up on it before. Maru was the nice person who took care of him and Marlux'a was the not-so-nice person who really wanted nothing to do with him. It made sense now ... but was it actually possible for that to happen? How could there be two people inside one person?

Unless...

Unless an evil spirit had taken over Maru. Yes! That's it! Marlux'a was an evil spirit who had obviously escaped from the Underworld. Hades must be seriously slacking if something like this managed to happen. You just can't get the Gods these days.

Well, now that he knew what happened the next obvious question is: what to do now? How do you rid yourself of a malicious spirit that is fully capable of possession? He very much doubted that the spirit would be talked into leaving Maru's body. What a pickle.

"Hey there, Zexion!" a cheerful voice shouted.

The child stopped when he heard the familiar voice. He looked behind him but the corridor was empty.

"Up here!"

Zexion tilted his head upwards. Demyx grinned toothily, enthusiastically waving both hands at the young child.

"Hey there!" he beamed, pushing the hood back that had fallen over his head. His head was beginning to feel rather fuzzy, but he was not one to complain. To be honest, it really wasn't that bad where he was, and the view the rather nice too. There was something about seeing the world upside down that made him hitch a breath, taking what he used to know for granted.

The slate-haired child smiled and lifted a hand, imitating what he saw Demyx doing earlier. The sight itself did not surprise him. After all, he was there when Maru (or was it Marlux'a?) somehow managed to tie Demyx up with vines.

That was last night though. Why was he still hanging there? He must like being upside down an awful lot to stay in that position all night long.

Scratching his head, Zexion wondered even more about the upside down man. One time, when he was lying on Maru's bed, he was staring at the ceiling, counting the tiles. He was so pleased with himself that he managed to count up to 30. He also knew various shapes too: triangles, squares and rectangles – even circles. Oh, it was the highlight of his day! However, that wasn't what he was thinking about, despite it making him so happy whenever he thought back to his marvellous accomplishment. No, he was thinking about how he felt when he was lying with head hanging over the bed. A few minutes passed by and his head was beginning to feel rather fuzzy and the room began to spin when he pushed himself up.

He looked back up to Demyx. Maybe the blond liked the sensations that rushed to his head. Maybe all those colourful blotches that flitted across his vision actually made some sense to him. Maybe they spoke to him in ways that only a colourful blotch could.

"Could you ... maybe ... get me down from here?" Demyx asked, pointing vigorously towards the white flower pot sprouting the evil vines of death that bound him to the ceiling.

Zexion stared at Demyx for a little while longer before taking a few steps towards the flower pot. The vines swayed backwards and forth, almost as if they were slow dancing to a flowery song that only plant life could hear.

A frown crossed his face as he watched the vines' dance. They looked as if they were really enjoying themselves. Who knew how often they had the chance to express themselves like this? It seemed like such a shame to ruin such a beautiful moment.

He swiftly kicked the flowerpot over and watched as the vines withered away and died.

Now, if this were a cartoon, Demyx would have stayed in midair and looked around widely before he realised that nothing was holding him up. His eyes would pop out by three inches, his arms and legs would flay about him and funny noises would fill the room.

This, however, was not a cartoon and Demyx immediately fell flat on his face.

"Owie," he whimpered, not even attempting to push himself up.

Zexion stared down at the pathetic mess on the floor.

"Need help," he said.

"I could use the help," the blond mumbled and lifted his right arm slightly.

The child stared down and arched a brow, delivering an expression than many had seen before.

"You help me," he said candidly.

Demyx groaned as he sluggishly pushed himself up, forgetting for a moment that Zexion was a child. The way those three words were said and the way those blue eyes stared at him, he was convinced that Zexion was back to his stony self.

"Yes, Boss," he grumbled, rubbing the bump that he was sure would appear in a matter of hours. Sometimes it really hurt being him.

"This way," Zexion said, pointing down the corridor.

-

How on earth did he get roped into doing some of the things he did? Sure, being in Organisation XIII involved performing various tasks that he did not agree on; however, most were bearable and involved using at least some of his potential. Some.

This newest task, however, did not require any of his potential whatsoever. It did not require one to be on the intellectual level of a walking encyclopaedia that devoured every piece of knowledge available. Nor did it require one to be brave enough to stand in the lion's den, dangling a mouse made of raw meat and coo "here kitty, kitty, kitty..." in a voice so high pitched that they deserved to be mauled to death. Likewise, it did not require one to be so strong that Hercules himself would cower before your feet and offer to count every grain of sand in Agrabah. Actually, if truth be told, it did not require one to be of any importance or of actual use to anyone else.

Demyx sighed as he replayed the incident in his head...

_The music was the first thing he heard as he stood before the large white door. He stared deep into the beady eyes of the creature that was trapped within the wood. The large head that protruded through the door reminded Demyx of a candle, the way its ebony skin had dribbled down and dried in ripples was just like wax does. Its bony arms were distorted and twisted in a position that looked most painful, the jutting joints obviously being used as a handle. The remains of its feet stuck out at the bottom and Demyx's face paled as he clearly saw the bone toes and elongated yellow nails. _

_"Don't put your finger in its mouth – it bites," the person in front of him sniggered._

_The blond looked back up, not able to see a mouth, just flabs of skin and those small eyes. _

_He jumped back swiftly as the eyes widened and the skin lifted, showing a mouth that was filled with small, razor-sharp teeth. It emitted a low growl._

_"You've offended him," the person sniggered again._

_The person, who in Demyx's eyes was very small, stepped on the creature's foot and pushed himself up, so he could grab the handle, pulling it down. The creature growled in pain as its arm snapped._

_The door opened, revealing hundreds of people dancing to the music. _

_Demyx followed the person inside, carefully watching where he walked. The last thing he needed was to accidentally knock someone over, especially since many people were dancing very intimately._

_"Yo, Zee!" yelled someone as they jumped out and patted the little person on the back. "What's he doing here?" he asked, staring at Demyx with disgust. _

_"He's with me. He came with me," Zee smirked._

_"I carried a water-bowl," Demyx blurted out quickly, not thinking about the consequences of his own words._

_The music suddenly stopped and was replaced with harsh laughter. Demyx swallowed, feeling silly for the paranoia that erupted in the back of his mind. It's not like they were laughing at him._

_"He carried a water-bowl?" someone laughed._

_Demyx cringed, feeling very claustrophobic as the people crowded around him, pointing and laughing all the way. His palms became moist with sweat, causing his grip on the water-bowl to loosen._

_Tears fell from his eyes as he stared at the shattered glass. He fell to the floor and curled into a foetal position, clenching his eyes closed tight. If he could not see the people, then they weren't there. One eye flittered open._

_Demyx screamed._

_Fangs grew from people's mouths as they closed in on the blond, ready to rip him limb from limb and fight savagely over the remains of his carcass..._

A swift kick to the shins brought Demyx back into the land of reality.

"Ouch," he whimpered, looking down to see Zexion staring at him impatiently. Apparently, his flashback was so intense and traumatic that it caused him to stop moving. Okay, so maybe 'flashback' was not the exact word he was looking for. Exaggeration was more of a suitable way to describe his 'flashback'.

_I think that film, Dirty Dancing, is effecting my brain a little too much_, he decided. He couldn't help being musically inclined with a love of dancing. It was to be expected.

"C'mon, Dem'x," Zexion insisted, placing his hands on his hips.

_Aw, that is so cute_, Demyx squealed to himself. _That really is Zexion_.

"Okies," he smiled and continued to walk. To be honest, he was rather unsure whether they were headed. All he knew was that Zexion insisted that he carry James Pond's fish bowl (a.k.a. Zexion's fish – one of the remaining few to live) to a certain location.

Finally, they stopped walking. Demyx looked around. He recognised this corridor; however, it paled in comparison to it upside-down.

"Oh no," he declared, shaking his head vigorously. "I'm not going in there! Marluxia will rip me to shreds – with his bare hands!"

Zexion watched as Demyx prattled on about what would happen to him if he entered Maru's room. He didn't see what the big deal was...

"-and then he'll laugh evilly as he boils me in a big pot, and once I'm delicious enough, he'll feed me to the rest of the Organisation!" Demyx panicked, visually pale as he finished his sentence. It wasn't that he was afraid of Marluxia; however, like most of the Organisation, he was clinically insane. Who knows what he is truly capable of?

"Maru not here," Zexion told him as he grabbed a hold of his coat and dragged the blond into the room.

"He's probably hiding under the bed with a knife," Demyx whimpered, holding the fish bowl close to him, as if hoping the fish would be able to defend him.

He swallowed as Zexion released his hold and pointed to the desk. "There," he directed.

Demyx nodded as he looked around, making sure he was safe, before making any movements. _It looks like Zexion was right ... I'd best hurry though_, he thought. Why Zexion would want to put another goldfish in Marluxia's room was anyone's guess, but Demyx went along with it. If it made the kid happy, it made Demyx happy.

"Here?" he asked, carefully placing the bowl down.

"Yup," the child beamed, nodding his head and smiling widely.

_Zexion really is too cute as a kid, _Demyx laughed, separating the two fish bowls Zexion ordered him to bring.

The dark-haired child smiled again as he watched Demyx. Now it was his turn. Using the same chair as before, Zexion hoisted himself up so he could reach the desk. He reached into the fish bowl that contained Maru the Fish and pulled out the small castle, placing it safely in the larger bowl.

"Put him in there," he told Demyx. The bowl of water was too heavy for him to carry, and he certainly did not wish to harm Maru. If he dropped the bowl, who knows whether the poor fish would survive the fall and all the shattered glass. It would be a very tragic way for a fish to go.

"Right-o," Demyx grinned, having a very good idea of what it was Zexion planned to do._ I wonder how Marluxia will react, _he laughed, gently transferring the fish into the other bowl, takingextreme care with the small creature. "Do you want me to put this one in too?" he asked, picking up James Pond.

Zexion grinned toothily.

A small laugh escaped Demyx's lips as he went about the same process with the other fish.

"Perfect."

Demyx crossed his arms, taking a small step back to admire his work. The fish certainly looked a lot happier in their new bowl. The extra space gave them plenty of room to play about and get loads of exercise. The last thing anyone wanted was an overweight fish. And who knew, maybe they would grow to be a large as Neptune.

"Hello, Maru!" Zexion shouted happily, waving his arms as he pointed to the two happy fish. "Look!"

_Marluxia's here?_ Demyx panicked, eyes wide with sheer terror. "I'm so sorry – he made me do it!" he yelled, closing his eyes tight as he rushed out the room and sped off down the corridor.

Zexion watched the display with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, a sly smile creasing his features, before going back and playing with both fish.

-

TO BE CONTINUED

NEXT CHAPTER: DAY THREE: PART THREE

-

**Author's Notes**: I destroyed England - doesn't look too great on me, does it lol. Okay, this is one of the only chapters that I am not too pleased with but the problem is, I'm not too sure why though. I think it would be obvious to you guys, but I think I've been staring at it too long to realise lol. If you find out, tell me please. I'm always looking for ways to improve my writing :)

Right, the good thing about this fic is that fillers for everyone else's fics are actual chapters for me. This is one of those because this is an experimental chap where I was playing with Zexion's POV (not directly, as you can tell). I didn't want it to be so distorted, like with other fics where the thought pattern chances every sentence, because, at the end of the day, I want to show that Zexion is still there (though his own thoughts and memories are rather distorted due to the potion) and that he can understand perfectly well what is going on and how things work. That is one reason why I'm deliberately making him somewhat of a genius child (take the counting). It doesn't seem like much to us, but the average numbers that a child his age can count is 10-20. So, in reality, Zexion has a rather unfair advantage as a child lol.

This chapter is really for all the Demyx fans because I'm not planning on having him make an appearance for the next couple of chapters ... just thought I'd tell you all.

Lastly, you all have to thank a certain cartoon for the completion of this chapter. I was stuck in a miserable pit of self-pity when I came across a blast from the past on ebay and it just cheered me up so much that I felt compelled to write. Has anyone heard of a cartoon called 'Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors'? An old 80's program that I watched when I was young ... Jayce was my first animated crush lol ... I was only 4-5 though! That's my defence :D

Right, thanks goes out to:

**KradsLover****:** Thanks :D I'm glad you like it and I'm sure it isn't better than yours ... I plan of having Saix make an appearance soon  
**Aki:** Thanks. I've gone past the stage where I want to write romance - it gets boring after a while. I wanted a change!  
**411**: Thanks for the heads up. I've actually encountered that fic that you were talking off and I've left a review too. But I've just checked and I think the story has been removed ... but I'm not sure of the author though. Everyone watch out for plagiarism, please!  
**ZuKoBaBe:** addicted to my fic. Shucks *blushes*  
**Rinix14**: thanks so much :)  
**WonderlandSyndrome**: ah, the dreaded 'I adore children' phase lol. We all go through it at some point (well, some of us at least lol). And I agree with you about Zexion, he's very sly even as a child. He knows how to get what he wants and won't stop until he gets it :D Nanny Marluxia will undoubtedly want to kill me before this fic is over lol  
**Zexyman**: I've reduced a boy to a giggling school-girl! My work here is done :D  
**Susumi**: Welcome back - missed you in the last chap lol. I'm glad you liked the chapters. Vexen HAS to name things because I do it ... I have to transfer some of my own oddities to the characters :D Marluxia knew about Zexion playing with the fish because he has special radar ... the adults ALWAYS seem to know when kids are up to no good. It's one of the joys of being a parental figure - Marluxia, you're stuck with it. Oh, and it was one of my so-called friends that criticised my writing. She needs to grow up ... scary thing is that she is a qualified teacher for young children! I fear for their education TBH.  
**WinterdustDreams**: Outsmarted by a baby. Marluxia, you're going down!! :D  
**Katherine-The-Crowned**: Analysing Marluxia is not the word - obsessed is more like it lol. We all have one character that we feel strongly towards and mine is the largely misjudged Marluxia :D Glad you like the chap  
**Kawii-Neko-Neko-Chan**: Thank you so much ... your review really made my day :)  
**thegreatwhitewolf**: I really hate it when fics are abandoned and I really don't want this one to fall into that category. I actually really enjoy writing moody Marluxia - he's so fun to play with :D  
**Tangerine342**: *Scratches head* yeah, I'm dyslexic. I had to stop reading Twilight because it made my brain melt ... sorry to you fans but Bella didn't grow on me. Plus, I'm not a big fan of vampire stories (Hellsing is the only exception to that though) and usually go to all the effort to avoid them. So, it's not a grudge towards Twilight :) Thanks for the review though, I made me happier after having my work ripped to shreds :)  
**Akarui Siren**: I'm still loving the doujin :) and the plushes are too cute ... if you made one of Marluxia I would defo buy it off you. I also think you should do commission plushes too, then I can com you to do a baby Zexion plush :D:D:D I'm sorry to hear you're having problems at work - I hope it all works out for you :)  
**MuffinPirate**: Thanks for the review ... usually if the characters are thinking something, I always put it in italics, as not to confuse anyone. I'll start using apostrophises in the next chapter :)

Right, long notes over. I think I'm going to have to stop doing to personalised replied because it's prob against policies lol. Just wanna leave you all with the statistics so far (I so proud - aren't I sad?)

**Reviews **150 **Hits **10,592 **C2s **2 **Favs **84 **Alerts **99

**Thank you all :)**


	11. Day Three Part 3

17 DAYS OF HELL

A Kingdom Hearts fanfiction

Kingdom Hearts is property of Square Enix and Disney.

This fanfiction is purely for entertainment – please do not get offended.

Enjoy…

--** DAY THREE **–-

2–3 Years Old

-

_This chapter is dedicated to my Grandfather, who passed away in November. _

_Love you forever, Grandad :)_ xxx

_-_

He was in a bad mood. He had been in a bad mood ever since he woke up this morning. Maybe there was something in the water or someone had tampered with his specially made toothpaste again. If the toothpaste was spearmint with a hint of orange then he would leave the bathroom with sparkling teeth and the hint of a smile. If the toothpaste was peppermint then he would storm out of his room and throw the tube at the first person who walked past. Usually that person was Demyx, who woke as soon his Traverse Town Sun Dial started cheeping; however, there had been the occasions where he had hit Xaldin, Zexion and even Xemnas. He knew that it was none of their faults that his breath was peppermint fresh but that horrible stuff sent him into a menacing rage. He hated peppermint ... with a passion. Peppermint was the bane of existence ... or non-existence ... it was the energy drink of every evil being that ever lived.

Luckily for him, cooking soothed his frazzled nerves, which meant none was the wiser.

"Needs more salt," Saix decided as tasted the thick stew he was in the process of making. A small pinch was all it needed before it was a fine delicacy fit for King Mickey himself. The Organisation really were privileged to have the honour of eating the food he prepared. He had always said that if he wasn't a part of the Organisation then he would open his own chain of restaurants.

Saix heard a sound and turned to see a small head peering through the door, looking cautiously around the room.

"What do you need, Zexion?" he asked in a loud voice, hoping the child would back away and close the door behind him.

However, the lucky fairy did not sprinkle her magically dust over him because Zexion pushed the door open more and walked in. He did not need this right now. King Mickey could have broken into the castle and smacked him in the face with a wet fish and it would have not have made a difference to his facial expression.

"Been punished," replied Zexion sheepishly.

Saix arched a brow. Had he heard correctly? Zexion was here purely as a form of punishment? Exactly whom was being punished though?

"You've been sent here as punishment?" he asked, stirring the stew but not turning his attention away from the small child.

Zexion nodded.

"By whom?" he inquired, adding an additional pinch of salt to the stew.

The little schemer continued to stare at Saix, merely replying, "Maru."

"For what reason?"

"Fishbowl."

_Well that was very cryptic, _he thought. It wasn't like he needed to know the reasons behind Zexion's so-called punishment; however, sometimes his curiosity did get the better of him. At this particular moment curiosity was gnawing away at his mind but he half assumed that this was nothing more than Marluxia's way of making himself feel better for the horrendous situation he was in. _I wouldn't put it past him to do something like this_, he speculated to himself. Marluxia played a game where he made up the rules as he went along and if those rule are not adhered to, he would find a cruel and sadistic way to enforce them. _And this is the man who the Superior has put in charge of a small child, believing some good will come out of it... _

Turning his back to Zexion, Saix continued to season the food. The only thing he needed to do was add the potatoes and leave to simmer. Well, he wasn't going to let the little cretin in the kitchen disturb his pleasant cookery downtime.

It turned out to be a task easier said than done. Wherever he turned, Zexion was stood in his way.

"You're still here?" he grumbled, not even bothering to face the child. He had no reason to as it was blatantly obvious to anyone with a brain that Zexion was the only one here who could be engaged in conversation.

"Mm," Zexion murmured, brows knitted together and tongue stuck out in concentration. When Saix refused to pay him heed, he decided to use this opportunity to catch up on his motor skills and artistic abilities. Unfortunately, his canvas and materials were reduced to a serving plate, sugar and a glass of water. It didn't stop his creative vibe from bursting through though. He poured the whole bag of sugar onto the plate and used his fingers as paintbrushes, manipulating the picture. Adding droplets of water, he realised, changed the texture of the sugar and used this to his advantage when creating his mini masterpiece. He wasn't too sure where the detailed imagery came from or these strange words that suddenly entered his mind. They were foreign, yet strangely familiar at the same time, which, his mind argued, was impossible. Nevertheless, he allowed his fingers to move of their own accord and stared down at the pictures he drew. A heart with the words '_Regnum Pectus pectoris'_ scrawled beneath. An open book with '_Ignes'_ on one page, and '_Fatui'_ on the other, and finally a wall with a broken word on either side – '_illu_' on the left and '_sio_' on the right. He couldn't stop the corners of his face from lifting as he looked down at the plate of creativity. He had the feeling that this was the greatest achievement of his life...

Zexion laughed as he smeared away what he had drawn and replaced it with a quickly scrawled dog standing on its hind paws and howling at the moon. "Saix, doggy," he squeaked loudly.

Falling prey to the insufferable 'nervous twitch', Saix's right eye began to convulse at an alarming rate. This habit was something that had developed over recent months due to certain members of the organisation being unable to hold their tongues. Why they felt the need to go to so much effort in comparing him to the canine breed was beyond him. Sometimes it was like being in charge of a group of small children with the occasional boring stiff thrown in (for good measures, of course). Surprisingly, Marluxia wasn't one of the ones who tormented him so. He assumed it was because he too was subjected to torment because of his unique abilities. However, saying that, Marluxia did manage to torment him some way or another.

"Look!" Zexion shouted, his voice demanding attention.

Sighing, Saix turned half-heartedly and arched a brow. "What do you want?" he asked, uninterested.

"Look!" he repeated.

Shading his head, Saix turned back to his cooking. He would not be ordered to do something by a mere child. It was unheard of!

"Look at my picture," Zexion whined, drawing out each syllable. "Look at my picture! Look! Picture! Picture! _Look!"_

"Fine!" he growled, throwing the spoon down on the work surface and storming over to Zexion. "What am I looking at then?"

Zexion smiled sweetly at the older Nobody. "Never mind," he said, quickly rubbing the picture away.

The protruding vein on Saix's forehead throbbed so much that he was certain his head would explode at any given moment, which would not look very appealing splattered across the pristine walls. It would also be a bitch to clean.

"I hate children," he muttered under his breath.

"'M gonna read, kay?" Zexion said, pushing himself off the chair.

"You stay where you are," Saix ordered in an irritated voice, pointing to the plate of sugar, "Until you have cleaned _that_ up."

Zexion looked down at the sugar before looking at Saix and asking, "Why?" in a serious tone.

Saix stared, his eyebrows arched to match his astonishment. "_Why_? Because I said so, that's _why_."

Zexion pouted as Saix turned his back and continued his work. "That's not fair," he whined.

"It isn't, is it?" Saix replied in a strangely cheerful voice. "Oh well..."

The child looked around before he slowly picked the plate up and poured the sugar onto the floor. "Done," he beamed, wiping his hands together before he jumped off the chair and rushed out the door before Saix could shout at him.

-

The day had finally ended, much to the relief of everyone in the castle. It had been eventful and Zexion had managed to keep nearly everyone on their toes. He had also managed to make a lifelong enemy of Saix. Whether it was the incident with the sugar or refusing to eat the food, no-one knew. However, one thing was certain, Saix was not impressed when Zexion informed them that he would only have ONE spoonful of food and would eat biscuits for the rest of the meal.

Nevertheless, that was all over and everyone was fast asleep...

"Zexion, for the last time, go to sleep!" Marluxia sighed, rubbing his eyes and temples to relieve the throbbing sensation.

"Not until you read me a story," he replied, fully awake and smiling.

"I'm not reading you _Lord of the Rings_."

Hugging the extremely large book, Zexion complained. "But I want it. I'll go straight sleep ... promise..."

Groaning, Marluxia took the book and opened it. "'When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton. Bilbo was very rich and very peculiar, and had been the wonder of the Shire for sixty years, ever since his remarkable disappearance and remarkable return'," he read, looking up at Zexion. When he noticed that Zexion's eyes were closed, he skipped to the end. "'He drew a breath. 'Well, I'm back,' he said.' The end."

Closing the book, Marluxia pushed himself from the bed and quickly made a rush for the door. He did not want to risk waking the child up.

"You cheated. Start again!" Zexion shouted, sitting straight in bed and pointing at Marluxia.

Lightly banging his head against the door, Marluxia sighed as he turned, dragging his feet across the room.

-

TO BE CONTINUED

NEXT CHAPTER: DAY FOUR: PART ONE

**Author's Notes**: Okay. First, I want to apologise for taking so long with this chapter. I've had a lot of problems but to cut a long story short: my grandfather passed away and I've not been in the mood to write anything remotely humorous. So hopefully you can all forgive me ... also, nothing much happened in this chapter, as you can tell. I just wanted to try my hand at Saix and didn't want to write another scene where they are all eating because it would be rather repetitive lol.

Anyway. I was going to try and get this out for Christmas time (as well as my birthday ... 25 - I'm getting OLD lol) but decided to leave it until after because the part I wanted to write just wouldn't fit in this chapter. So, the next chapter will be my belated Xmas and New Years treat to you all :) Believe me; it won't take me as long to get the next chapter out because I'm rather excited to write it :)

Lastly, please don't mention in reviews that I spell Organisation without the 'z' because it's a British spelling thing that I really cannot change. Force of habit, I'm afraid. It would be like me trying to spell 'colour' 'behaviour' or 'centre' like 'color' 'behavior' or 'center'. It baffles me lol. So, there you have it. It's a deliberate mistake :)

Right. A few review responses:

**thegreatwhitewolf** - Zexion is just too adorable, isn't he. It was fun to write a chapter from his POV ... a nice change. A yes, a moody Marluxia is EXTREMELY fun to write :)  
**jessica jawface** - Yup, I destroyed England ... mainly because I, too, am from England. It gives me an excuse to flea to the Pride Lands lol.  
**Reno-is-a-Turk** - cannot wait to see that pic you did :)  
**Susumi** - How I love reading your reviews :) i'm so glad I'm not the only one who names things. My laptop is named Tatsumi (yes, after the character) and he strangely lives up to the name. He hates it when I play games and turns himself off after 10 minutes (not through overheating) but LOVES it when I do real work like writing and assignments. He also likes to connect to all the unsecured internet connections when my other laptop cannot lol. Anyway. I do believe it was Shakesphere with the whole 'world is your oyster' ... 'The Merry Wives of Windsor' I think but it has been over 10 years since I studied Shakespeare. And yes, getting in the mind of Zexion was fun ... trying to have him express this child-like innocence yet being himself at the same time is just a joy :)  
- hehe, the pot part was classic gold, IMHO. It seems so him lol  
**KradsLover** - return of the fishes indeed. I can inform you that the other alive fish will be making an appearance too lol.  
**WonderlandSyndrome** - I'm glad that I'm managing to portray a child's way of thinking. I think I spend hours thinking back to all the experience I've had with kids (my own family and work/uni too) and finding ways of how I can transfer their behaviours into here.  
**Akarui Siren** - Still loving the doujin :) I really need to get round to logging into DA and replying to you there but I got bored of it (kinda like facebook lol). Oh, if you do start selling plushes, I'm so buying one (or two) off you :) Anyway. I'm glad you managed to find another job ... I finally managed to bag myself a job too :D So happy.  
**Nitroglycerin** - I have something in mind for Zexion using his powers but it won't be for another few years lol  
**Lighthawke** - Have I ever said that Demyx is an idiot? Also, how is someone playing with toys an idiot? Children enjoy having others to interact with when they are playing ... it encourages them, especially if they are having difficulties. Play does happen to be a vital part of children's development. Also, people that help children through play are called 'Play Workers' just in case you think I'm talking bull. Also, for the aging thing hurting ... it might but this is humour, which means that alot of things can happen that doesn't have to make sense. The joys of the genre :)  
**ZackFairIsTheMan09** - I'm rather flattered that you want me to write a story based on your idea. However, the story of a random baby in the Organisation is too much like this story and I would probably end up writing the exact same things without realising it. Sorry. I think I have more chance of writing a story where Marluxia is turned into a cat than another baby story lol

Right. Thank you everyone who has reviewed but not mentioned. They really do cheer me up and give me a lot of courage in my writing abilities. No matter how many people tell me my writing is good, I just don't believe them lol.

So. Upload won't be TOO long. Hope you enjoyed the chap :)

-Bexi


	12. Day Four

17 DAYS OF HELL

A Kingdom Hearts fanfiction

Kingdom Hearts is property of Square Enix and Disney

This fanfiction is purely for entertainment – please do not get offended

Enjoy…

--** DAY FOUR **–-

3-4 Years Old

-

Vexen smiled as he watched the events unfold. It was perfect. Nothing could make him 'feel' any greater than what he 'felt' now – except the world's largest quadruple chocolate chip cookie, topped with chocolate sauce and smothered in a gut-bursting cream laced with paopu fruit juice. He imagined that one bite of such a delicious treat would cause his being to cease existing. The experience would be a Nobody's version of a heart attack, but with a rather chocolaty twist.

"I need to put an end to all distractions and concentrate fully on what I am witnessing," he told himself. "It's a means to an end, as they would say. A beginning of a beginning, perhaps? A gay old time?"

His hand hovered over the faux crystal ball and images flashed before his eyes. Images that pleased him very much. "I could go into the fortune telling business," the man mused aloud. "Selling fortunes for cookies – it's fool proof!"

Vexen was woken from his cookie filled reverie by the chimes of a clock striking three. "It's time," he told the ball, a wide smirk distorting his face. Waving his hand, Vexen opened a murky portal and walked through.

-

"Why won't that blasted child shut up?" growled Saix, holding his hands firmly to his sensitive ears. It had been like this for hours now. Zexion suddenly starting crying and nothing anyone could do caused him to be quiet. How Marluxia could ignore the sound and happily grow daffodils in the corner was beyond him.

"Throwing him in the air caused him to up-chuck," Xigbar grinned, looking back at Xaldin, who sat a good distance for the others. "Likewise, with tickling."

"Tickling? From where I stood, it looked like you were strangling him," Luxord said.

Xigbar arched a brow. "Dare I say that your eyesight is failing you, Luxord?"

"My eyesight is not failing me," Luxord scoffed. "However, even a blind man could tell that your hands were around his neck, Xigbar."

Xigbar blinked. "Is that British for something? How could a blind man see my hands around the brat's neck?"

"So you admit it?"

"What? No!"

Before this stupid argument could transpire into something equally stupid, Xemnas decided it was his duty as Superior to step in.

"Quit this nonsense right now!" he barked, slamming his hands on both of their heads. "Now is not the time to-" he trailed off after something hit him in the face. He turned to face the culprit. "What is the meaning of this, Marluxia?"

The mauve-haired assassin leaned on his elbow and flashed a toothy grin. "Whatever do you mean, My Lord? I was merely expressing my gratitude by presenting you with a flower."

Xemnas picked up the flower that was thrown to him and pointed it to the other. "It's a rose with its head ripped off."

"Your point being?" he replied, calmly.

Gritting his teeth, Xemnas crushed the stem in his hands, ignoring the sensation is sharp thrown piercing his skin. "As I was saying..."

-

Deep laughter filled the air as Vexen emerged from the darkness. "Those pathetic imbeciles have no idea what perils await them," he smirked, looking into the cage where the remaining twelve members of Organisation XIII resided. "They have no idea that they are trapped within an illusion created by me!"

He watched with a twinkle in his eyes as they ran around and jumped on one another. "Now now, Larxene," he beamed, picking up the only female by the pink collar around her neck. "You can't go around jumping the others ... that really isn't very 'lady-like', is it?" He threw Larxene back into the cage. "They also have no idea that I turned them all into chipmunks, identified only by a coloured collar."

Gone are the times where these beings would criticize his genius ... his greatness for everything he did. They would all pay.

"Chipmunks are so much more annoying than squirrels," he noted with a smile.

"Vexen, is everything complete?" came a soft, sing-song voice.

Vexen turned and dropped to his knees, bowing his head to the person who sat proudly on the stone thrown. "Yes, My Lord," he began. "All the work into collecting hearts has ceased. Kingdom Hearts is nothing but a mere memory now."

"Good," the voice replied. "Now is the time for the real work to begin ... now we begin 'Operation Honey'. All those who oppose me are to be killed instantly, do you understand, Vexen?"

"Yes, My Lord," he said, a grotesques grin distorting his features. "I will kill all who get in the way of us."

"Go then, my loyal servant," he ordered with a shake of his hand.

As Vexen disappeared, a small creature looked up at the new king of the world.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Pooh Bear?" Piglet asked. "It c-could be scary. What if the Gruffalo tries to eat me again?" he panicked, tears falling from his eyes.

Pooh Bear smiled. "There really isn't much left for him to eat, is there Piglet? After all, you are just a head that I wear around my neck."

Piglet sighed. Pooh Bear had saved his life and expressed his further kindness by wearing Piglet as a fancy necklace. "Y-you're right, Pooh Bear. Thank you – you're my best friend."

"Why thank you, Piglet," he smiled, pleased with the outcome of the conversation. It was true that Piglet was his best friend and he felt the need to repay that friendship by preserving Piglet's life. Unfortunately, all his other friends in the Hundred Acre Wood had not survived the invasion. However, Pooh Bear still had mementoes that he cherished. On his head, were Rabbit's ears. On his bottom was Tiger's tail. On his arms were Owl's feathers. And on his face were Roo's whiskers. Unfortunately, he was unable to carry a piece of Christopher Robin, which was why the boy was trapped within Kanga's pouch, back home.

He loved his friends.

"Oh bother," he complained. "I seem to have gotten my hand stuck in the honey pot again. Hmm, maybe if I stick my other hand inside, I can get the honey... oh bother..."

THE END

Author's Note:

Bet none of you were expecting that, were you? This was my intention from the start because I just felt there was something odd about Winnie the Pooh. To be honest, there really is something messed up about him. A living stuffed bear ... that's the things that nightmares are made off. He used to give me nightmares as a child, so this is from experience. However, writing this has helped me get over my fear of Winnie the Pooh. I did have a little trouble because I heard noises and I was convinced that he was waiting under my bed for me, which is why I have not been able to sleep for the past two days. Currently, I am on a 48 hour coffee driven high. I even had to phone in work because I was so paranoid about Winnie the Pooh trying to kill me. Luckily I am a convincing actor and they believed me when I started coughing down the phone. They told me that I shouldn't share my germs with customers. I was happy because it meant that I didn't have to leave my bed for that time. Today I dared look under my bed and I discovered that there was nothing there. He probably moved and is hiding his my wardrobe now. He tried to convince everyone that he is stupid by eating copious amount of honey and getting trapped in jars. DO NOT BELIEVE IT. It is a lie. How I have written him is how he REALLY is. Evil. Now, there is a chance that I won't survive to write another story because once I post this, he will kill me. But please, my beloved fans ... help me spread the word that Winnie the Pooh is really an evil genius.

Please... don't let him pull you in by his evil ways...


	13. Now a word from our sponsor

...**APRIL FOOLS**...

What did you expect? I have to admit that I'm rather insulted that some of you found it to be genuine ... surely you must all realise that I wouldn't upload such drivel lol. It was literally five minutes work. Considering the fact that you're reading a humour fic, some of you lack a sense of humour lol. Anyway, as it was April 1st, I felt it was only fitting for me to do this ... considering the genre I write for.

Luckily for you all, none of it was real. I have no qualms with Winnie the Pooh ... we talked and everything's cool. He doesn't want to be the main antagonist though – sorry to disappoint some of you. Looks like you're just going to have to make deal with the rest of the Organisation and an infantile Zexion :D

Next, I'm sorry if some of you were so disappointed by what I wrote and wish to never read it again – I will be sad to see you all go.

Lastly, I'm happy to say that next chapter – the REAL one, will be uploaded soon. And as a tread, here is a sneak peek:

**KINGDOM HEARTS  
CHRISTMAS SPECIAL**

After reading how Rudolf saved Christmas from the evil clutches of Santa's wicked step brother, Lancelot, Zexion wanted to know more. There were so many questions that needed answers:

i) How can one reindeer stop a madman when said madman could just kill said reindeer with ease?

ii) Why is Rudolf's nose red and how does it glow so bright?

iii) If Santa Claus is magic and can somehow deliver presents to every child all over the world, why couldn't he install magical lights on his sleigh to help guide him through the night?

iv) What's Christmas?

v) Why are the reindeer so prejudice – they're reindeer for heaven's sake ... they don't have much room to talk when you consider a lot of things.

vi) Why are Christmas elves different to Lord of the Rings elves?

vii) Is Santa a stalker considering he knows where all these children live and whether they've been naughty or nice?

viii) Why has he never heard of Christmas before?

ix) What would Santa do if the whole reindeer population was wiped out? Use a helicopter?

x) If Santa, an old fat man, can deliver all the presents in one day, can his evil brother, a young skinny man, deliver them quicker?

xi) Why are naughty children given coal? Why not pebbles? Or nothing? Surely opening a big box on Christmas day, only to discover it empty, would cause any child to rethink their tune...

xii) Does Santa get bored only working one day in a year?

xiii) Most importantly, has Zexion been naughty or nice?

Surely it must be close to this '_Christmas_', Zexion decided.

"Maru!" Zexion shouted as he walked over to the bed and climbed onto the chair. Marluxia was snoring on the bed with _Lord of the Rings_ covering his face, open at the last page he was reading. "Maru," Zexion tried again, pulling at Marluxia's coat.

"Not now, Frodo," he replied, sleepily.

"'M Zexion, not Fr'do," he proclaimed loudly. There really was nothing more frustrating than 'family' forgetting or confusing names.

Looking at Marluxia, Zexion knew what he had to do to wake the man up. Slowly, he removed the book, throwing it to the ground with a loud thud, and grabbed a twin handful of mauve hair. "Wake up!" he yelled, pulling the hair hard.

Marluxia awoke abruptly, looking around swiftly for any sign of intrusion and a reason why he had drawn his scythe. Finding nothing, he grimaced and closed his eyes once more. "Go away, Zexion," he muttered.


	14. Christmas Special Part 1

17 DAYS OF HELL

A Kingdom Hearts fanfiction

Kingdom Hearts is property of Square Enix and Disney.

This fanfiction is purely for entertainment – please do not get offended.

Enjoy…

-** DAY FOUR **–-

3-4 Years Old

**Note**: Just thought I'd mention here that Zexion's language development and skills are actually based on children that I have taught in the past. I've had a few people mention that I'm making Zexion too un-childlike and thus unbelievable. So yeah, I'm writing from interactions and experience J

Anyway, without further ado...

KINGDOM HEARTS  
CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

PART ONE

After reading how Rudolf saved Christmas from the evil clutches of Santa's wicked step brother, Lancelot, Zexion wanted to know more. There were so many questions that needed answers:

i) How can one reindeer stop a madman when said madman could just kill said reindeer with ease?

ii) Why is Rudolf's nose red and how does it glow so bright?

iii) If Santa Claus is magic and can somehow deliver presents to every child all over the world, why couldn't he install magical lights on his sleigh to help guide him through the night?

iv) What's Christmas?

v) Why are the reindeer so prejudice – they're reindeer for heaven's sake ... they don't have much room to talk when you consider a lot of things.

vi) Why are Christmas elves different to Lord of the Rings elves?

vii) Is Santa a stalker considering he knows where all these children live and whether they've been naughty or nice?

viii) Why has he never heard of Christmas before?

ix) What would Santa do if the whole reindeer population was wiped out? Use a helicopter?

x) If Santa, an old fat man, can deliver all the presents in one day, can his evil brother, a young skinny man, deliver them quicker?

xi) Why are naughty children given coal? Why not pebbles? Or nothing? Surely opening a big box on Christmas day, only to discover it empty, would cause any child to rethink their tune...

xii) Does Santa get bored only working one day in a year?

xiii) Most importantly, has Zexion been naughty or nice?

Surely it must be close to this '_Christmas_', Zexion decided.

"Maru!" Zexion shouted as he walked over to the bed and climbed onto the chair. Marluxia was snoring on the bed with _Lord of the Rings_ covering his face, open at the last page he was reading. "Maru," Zexion tried again, pulling at Marluxia's coat.

"Not now, Frodo," he replied, sleepily.

"'M Zexion, not Fr'do," he proclaimed loudly. There really was nothing more frustrating than 'family' forgetting or confusing names.

Looking at Marluxia, Zexion knew what he had to do to wake the man up. Slowly, he removed the book, throwing it to the ground with a loud thud, and grabbed a twin handful of mauve hair. "Wake up!" he yelled, pulling the hair hard.

Marluxia awoke abruptly, looking around swiftly for any sign of intrusion and a reason why he had drawn his scythe. Finding nothing, he grimaced and closed his eyes once more. "Go away, Zexion," he muttered. He had spent a great deal of last night trapped inside Middle Earth with elves and hobbits, running around aimlessly because of a silly trinket that was said to be a weapon of mass destruction. It was drivel in his eyes.

"Why don't you go play with the fish?" he suggested, knocking Zexion's hands off his hair.

"When's it Chris'mas?" Zexion asked excitedly, ignoring Marluxia's early suggestion.

Many would have thought that the big smile that covered Zexion's face was adorable. Marluxia, however, was not impressed. "Christmas is a nothing but waste of time," he said.

Zexion shook his head rapidly and reached for the magnificent book that told him of the joys and wonders of Christmas. "S'not as waste!" he pouted, thrusting the book underneath Marluxia's nose.

Rubbing his nose where the book hit him, Marluxia quickly read the text and took note of the overly colourful pictures. "Of course you would think that because this book glorifies Christmas. It draws you in with the poorly drawn pictures of grinning idiots and vibrant colours. Nowhere in this text does it mention all the hassle that Christmas causes – the troubles. People are so obsessed with being on the 'nice list' that they are purposely forgetting themselves by lying constantly and acting selfless. In theory, people on the 'naughty list' should be graced with gifts because they don't care about receiving anything ... isn't that true selflessness?"

"Scourge," Zexion exclaimed loudly, poking Marluxia's nose. "Scourge, Scourge, Scourge!"

"Oh how your words wound me," he mocked. "But believe me; I've been called far worse."

"Chris'mas!" Zexion shouted, thumping the other's chest hard.

"Now, now, temper, temper. Lashing out because someone doesn't have the same opinions as you? How very unlike you, Zexion - most childish indeed," Marluxia sniggered, narrowing his eyes and directing a smirk towards the child.

Biting his lower lip lightly, Zexion began to shake as he pushed the book onto Marluxia and crawled off the bed. "I hate you," he cried. "I hate you!"

"Music to my ears," Marluxia sneered, throwing the book to the ground.

Tears threatened to fall from Zexion's eyes but he refused to cry. He didn't want to cry. Not here. Not now. Why was Maru being so cruel?

Seeing a small pebble on the floor, Zexion picked it up and threw at the glass fishbowl. "Stupid fish," he muttered as he ran out the room.

Marluxia pushed himself from the bed as he watched Zexion leave the room, the smile on his face refusing to leave. "I never tire of destroying children's hopes and dreams," he said aloud despite no one being there to hear. "It's only a shame that I hardly get to accomplish such a goal ... what a pity. However, saying that, the novelty of Zexion is beginning to wear off ... now it is nothing more than a nuisance."

The mauve-haired man looked over to where the fishbowl was and watched the two fish swim around aimlessly. "I believe a meeting with the 'almighty' Superior is in order, don't you agree?" he said to the fish, swiftly opening a murky portal that would lead him there. "Right now..."

Xemnas stood with his arms crossed as he stared at the multicoloured sky. There was no breeze ... there never was. No external sunshine ... no eternal darkness. No nothing...

"We need to talk, Superior," said a voice that pulled Xemnas from his musings.

"What is it, Marluxia?" he said, turning his head slightly to acknowledge the other. He was suspicious ... Marluxia never referred to him as a being of higher superiority than himself.

"It is about Zexion," he replied.

"Growing tired of him already, XI?" he smirked, turning to fully face Marluxia. The expression that crossed Marluxia's features gave him a great satisfaction. _My, it seems I have the upper hand over you, Marluxia_, he thought. _That is a feat in itself_...

"On the contrary, I am finding this to be nothing more than a source of entertainment that I feel will take a long time to diminish," he said quickly, turning the tables on Xemnas. _I cannot believe for one moment I even considered showing a weakness to that man_ – _what was I thinking!_ he reprimanded himself harshly. _I will not let him hold anything over me _... _even if I have to swallow my pride with Zexion, I will not admit defeat to the likes of Xemnas!_ _That is exactly what he wants... _

Xemnas arched a brow. "Oh, I was going to say that if it was too much for you, then I will relieve you of this duty." Had he underestimated Marluxia?

"And have someone else stealing my fun? No..." He crossed his arms and smirked, imitating Xemnas's earlier expression.

"Then why are you here then?" he asked curiously. What was Marluxia's game?

"I merely wish to seek your permission to take Zexion out of the castle. He is rather curious about Christmas and I was going to take him to the place where he can learn the most. Besides, the castle is getting rather stuffy and I am becoming rather bored with the scenery," he said, using his hands to emphasis his point. This was not his original idea; however, he needed to do something to show that he had no intention of backing down.

"Oh really? And why do you feel the need to seek my approval because that has never stopped you before," the Superior sneered and continued before Marluxia had the chance to reply. "Nevertheless, it seems like a remarkable idea. I will inform the others of this – they can accompany you. I believe more of us there will make a positive impact on Zexion ... who knows, perhaps it will cause the 'spell' to wear off," he laughed, turning his back on Marluxia and exiting the room before the other could find a way to wheedle his way out. _Maybe this could work in my favour after all_...

Marluxia could do nothing but stare as he watched Xemnas scurry away like the miserable wretch he was. Slowly, the words began to sink into his brain and he acknowledged what it was this means. "Damn it!" he growled darkly.

TO BE CONTINUED

NEXT CHAPTER: CHRISTMAS SPECIAL PART TWO

Author's Notes:

Well I'm back with another chapter. I swear, how do you guys put up with me taking so long? At least I can tell you the reason it took so long: WRITER'S BLOCK! It was terrible. Usually when I suffer from small forms of this, I still have plenty of ideas rushing through my head ... this; however, was not the case. I had nothing going through my head in regards to this story. Whenever I tried to type, I just stopped ... it seemed like such a chore, which I know is not true because I love this story ... I love writing it. So yeah, it was rather scary because instead of being crammed full of story ideas, my mind was a blank slate. Never want to feel that way again - I love my writing too much to lose it.

There's that. I'm glad that you all (well most of you) enjoyed my little April fool's joke ... Winnie the Pooh is evil though. Imagine Chucky with yellow fur and an infatuation with honey and what do you get ... Winnie the Pooh. I rest my case.

This chapter is split into different parts because I thought I'd keep it in style with the rest of the fic. So, sorry if you were expecting a really long chap ... the next one won't take as long. Also, forgive me for writing an xmas based chap HALF WAY through the year lol. Also, this was rather fun for me to write. Zexion made such progress by using the 'H' word. Marluxia, I'm guessing, is used to people saying that they hate him (I still love you :D). I also wanted to bring back some of his badass character back ... I've missed it greatly you see lol

Thank you all for the wonderful reviews and if you're new to the fic, then welcome to the jungle ... or to the madness. Whatever tickles your fancy really lol

I'm not going to do personal review responses ... unless you all like that, then I will continue :) I actually like responding to you all … makes me feel special, especially to you guys who have been with me since the beginning. You all know who you are :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:DlD:D:D:D … one for you all J

Lastly, Akarui Siren (despite what I just wrote, this is not a review response) still loving the doujinshi - you make me fall in love with Marluxia more and more with the way you draw him :D Thank you soooooo much. You can have some Zexion-head shaped cookies as a treat :)


	15. IMPORTANT NOTICE NOT AN UPDATE!

**IMPORTANT NOTICE - THIS IS NOT AN UPDATE!**

Hey guys, sorry to have to do this but I was wondering if I could ask you all a favour? It has come to my attention that an author who goes by the name of 'Tic Tacky' has published a story here 'Days of our Lives', which is 99% identical to mine. I have contacted the person requesting that they remove the fic and re-upload when they have written their own story. I do not mind the story idea being used (please give credit is using same story idea though) but I do not tolerate plagiarism. I do not see why someone would actually steal someone else's work and pass it off as their own - do they really have no shame? Obviously, some people do not see writing the same as I. I love it - I love thinking ideas in the middle of the night, jotting them down before I forget, and typing them up when I get time. Writing is my passion ... and to see people mock it by plagiarism disgusts me.

Anyway, I did get a response from this 'Tic Tacky' and they were arrogant and cocky, no remorse at what they have done. They have no intension of removing their story either. I have reported it and hope something is done.

So, my friends, I was wondering if you do come across anything like this again, please contact me. I don't read as much KH fanfiction as I should and this would have gone unnoticed had someone not contacted me (thank you everyone :D). It has upset me (more than it should, I guess) and I feel sorry for others who have had stories stolen and also those who have stolen them - I pity that they do not have the creative spark that makes a story come alive.

Thank you :)

This fic would not be what it is without you all - you all rock :D

p.s. I have 85% done with the new chapter - life is SO busy it's not funny lol. I will replace this notice with the new chapter in due time and will personally pm all those who are on my alerts with an update :)

-Bexii

xxxxxxxxxxxx


	16. Christmas Special Part 2

17 DAYS OF HELL

A Kingdom Hearts fanfiction

Kingdom Hearts is property of Square Enix and Disney.

This fanfiction is purely for entertainment – please do not get offended.

Enjoy…

-** DAY FOUR **–-

3-4 Years Old

-** CHRISTMAS SPECIAL CONTINUED…**–-

Signing, Marluxia leaned against his elbows as he slumped onto the table. He had certainly managed to get himself into some, should we say trouble, before but this takes the biscuit. This must have been Xemnas's plan from the start. Make him out to be a complete idiot that couldn't cope with a simple set task. Thumping his fist on the table, Marluxia sighed again. He had gotten himself into this sticky situation - how hard could it be to get out of?

"Is it true we're having a Christmas this year?" Demyx practically squealed as he rushed into the main room. Really, there must be a crime against someone being so … happy at any given time. His eyes doubled to twice their regular size and his smile was so big that was now borderline creepy, especially with the row of pearly teeth showing too. All he needed was fangs and dribble of blood and he could be let into Halloween Town without a costume.

"Why are you asking me?" Marluxia growled, eyes narrowing.

Demyx took a small step backwards at the unexpected response; however, this did not deter him. Even the glare that Marluxia directed at him, which would have had him accompanying Axel and Roxas as red smears on the wall, failed to faze him (much).

"Well…" he started, bouncing from foot to foot. "The Superior said-"

"The Superior is an imbecile whose judgment is clouded by that unruly mop on top of his head."

Demyx immediately saw the irony in the sentence, but decided against mentioning this aloud. After all, he did cherish his life. "Well?" he prompted.

Sighing, Marluxia answered. "Demyx, Christmas is a time for weak willed fools to act like idiots and waste time, munny and life in general. In fact, this is the perfect time for us all to work harder because everyone will be blinded by fairy lights and will fail to notice."

Demyx rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet, arms behind his back, as he smiled and waited. He was perfectly aware of the fact that Marluxia had reached a decision, however, the superior had told him that if he was able to chance Marluxia's mind, then Christmas was just around the next bend.

_Xemnas leaned forward, resting his chin on the palms of his hands, eyes half-lidded as his lips curled at either side._

"_Now, Demyx," he began, "I cannot promise you anything. The way I see it is this: if it doesn't slow our mission to obtain Kingdom Hearts, then one day will make no difference. However, I will only approve of this if every member has agreed."_

_His smile grew larger._

"_Every. Single. One."_

_Thus began Demyx's mission to get Christmas for Organisation XIII. He wasn't sure who to start with or even what he was going to say. He was even sure how he got his first approval - he just did._

_He was walking down the corridor when the next thing he knew he was being pushed aside a fell to the ground. He looked up._

"_Larxene, do you want Christmas this year!" he squealed._

"_Go away," she growled, storming away in the opposite direction._

* * *

_**Stat Screen:**_

_**Yays:**__ 4 (Zexion's vote was decided by Demyx)_

_**Nays**__: 0_

_**Unknowns**__: 9_

_**Success rate:**__ mediocre._

* * *

_The first, and by no means last, approval. The others just fell into place really. One might call it fate._

"_H-How can this be?" Luxord stuttered, staring at the cards on the table. It was impossible … some kind of mistake. _

"_Is that even in the rule book?" Xigbar mumbled, learning towards the blond-haired man. _

"_Not the official one at least," he said, pulling out a small well-worn black book from the folds of his coat._

"_Ah, the infamous 'little black book' rears its ugly head," laughed Xigbar, leaning as far back on his chair as possible. _

"_Can't believe I actually fell for something so trivial as this. Beaten at my own game," he sighed. He opened the book and began to flit through the pages so quickly that one would believe that he had memorised every single word. Subconsciously mumbling to himself, Luxord stopped on a page near the back of the book and looked at the others seated around the table. "Despite knowing the truth, I had to have the factual evidence in front of me to believe. Unbelievable – or should I say remarkable!"_

"_Care to enlighten the rest of us? What mysterious words lie within the worn pages of that magical book?" Xigbar laughed. _

"_His book happens to be my bible – written by Yours Truly," he proudly declared._

"_You worship a book written by yourself? Conceited much?" Xigbar smirked, quickly changing positions so that he could comfortably sprawl on the table without causing the cards to fall. "Well? What's the verdict, Time Lord?"_

"_You have the humour of a bullfrog, Xigbar," he said dryly, rolling his eyes. "The verdict is that we are mere pawns in this game of chess and our time has come to an end. To cut a long story short – we lose!"_

"_Brutally knocked off the chessboard to allow for the mighty walk proudly in our stead. Such a tragic way to end what was believed to be an easy victory. How lead astray were we?"_

"_Erm, I don't have any idea what you're talking about," said the third member of the table. "Does this mean I win or what? And what does chess have to do with blackjack?" he enquired, generally curious. _

"_Demyx, chess is the game of life we all have to play through. Everybody must discover their position on the board and move accordingly ... be it a pawn of the queen."_

"_So I win?" he asked again, the smile on his face growing incredibly large. _

"_If you call that quick stroke of luck winning, then yes," he replied, refusing to believe that anyone within the castle could muster the skill to beat him. The games he played had nothing to do with luck but it certainly came in handy. "Another game, Xigbar?" he asked, already collecting the cards to shuffle._

"_Count me in!"_

"_So I win?" Demyx said, more to himself. He knew what this meant. Quickly, he stood up and ignored the falling chair behind him. "Then we shall have Christmas this year! That was the wager."_

_Not wasting any time whatsoever, Demyx rushed off. He was closer to sweet victory._

* * *

_**Stat Screen:**_

_**Yays:**__ 7 (Zexion's vote was decided by Demyx. Saix's vote was decided due to the fact that we would agree with the Superior)_

_**Nays**__: 0_

_**Unknowns**__: 6_

_**Success rate:**__ commendable thus far._

* * *

_Swallowing back a sigh, Vexen narrowed his eyes as he witnessed his latest achievement go up in smoke, rather literally. He patted the flames down, thankful that his gloves were flammable, and mentally added the thick solution to his list of: 'Do Not Touch – EVER'. He had assumed that he would able to create a solution to the small problem that was Zexion, despite the humorous effects that enveloped the castle; however, he failed – miserably._

"_I take it you meant the OTHER glumpy, black solution, Vexen?" Demyx asked, a small smile gracing his features. _

_Vexen growled. How could anyone possibly cause such mayhem with an innocent smile on his face? _

"_That would be correct, Demyx," he stated nonchalantly. _

"_Oops," the younger member laughed sweetly, waving the incident off as a regular occurrence._

"_While I am incredibly grateful for you wanting to be of assistance, I believe your services are best suited elsewhere, Demyx," he said gently, trying not to offend the other. It was only thirty minutes ago that the small blond had bounced into the lab, a large smile creasing his face and eyes alight with joy as he announced his insistence on helping Vexen with his latest project. Vexen, obviously, had been suspicious at this sudden interference because only a small number of people entered his lab – ever. _

"_No, it's okay," Demyx replied, picking up a test tube that contained a small plant-like specimen. "I'll just feed the fish for you because, to be perfectly honest, I think you've been neglecting them." _

_Vexen stared, mouth ajar as he watched the other flutter around the room, kicking pieces of equipment out of his way without any thought whatsoever as to their usage. He had dedicated years to his research and Demyx was destroying it in a matter of minutes. He knew if he didn't put an end to the madness, his lab would be no more._

"_Feed that to anything and you will cause a major disturbance in the digestive system of all my marine biology specimens," Vexen groaned, massaging his throbbing temples._

"_Hm?" Demyx responded, turning on his heel to look at the stressed scientist._

"_There is a high probability that all the fish will implode if you continue, causing great stress to all, mainly you."_

"_How about this!" Demyx decided suddenly, smiling widely. "I'll leave you be if you agree to Christmas…"_

"_Yes! Now leave!"_

* * *

_**Stat Screen:**_

_**Yays:**__ 12 (Zexion's vote was decided by Demyx. Saix's vote was decided due to the fact that we would agree with the Superior. Axel and Roxas were nowhere to be found, thus meaning their votes were automatically added to the majority total.)_

_**Nays**__: 0_

_**Unknowns**__: 1_

_**Success rate:**__ XD._

* * *

"_Well, after Lexaeus agreed with a silent grunt, and Xaldin agreed by ignoring me (well, who can really hold their own against LoTRs?), I think I'm almost done! That only leaves…"_

_WAIT A MINUTE..! WAIT A DARN COTTON PICKING MINUTE…_

* * *

_**STAT SCREEN:**_

_**Yays:**__ 13 (Zexion's vote was decided by Demyx. Saix's vote was decided due to the fact that we would agree with the superior. Axel and Roxas were nowhere to be found, thus meaning their votes were automatically added to the majority total. Marluxia pre-agreed this idea with the superior, thus THUS meaning that his vote is now included in the total.)_

_**Nays**__: 0_

_**Unknowns**__: 0_

_**Success rate:**__ BINGO_

* * *

Demyx stared.

And stared…

Marluxia arched a brow. "…"

Demyx grinned.

And grinned…

Marluxia shook his head, exhaling loudly in hopes that Demyx would mentally return to the same room and engage him in intellectual conversation for once. '_Well, this is supposedly the time for miracles_,' he laughed to himself.

"Now that it's been fully cleared up, we need to get started on preparations for the Organisation's First Christmas. We need a tree, decorations, lights, songs, music, cake, presents, elves, snow, a waterfall and finally – Santa Claus!"

The blond counted down the number of things on his hands, mentally assigning each member a task beforehand. He had a rough idea who would be best suited for the jobs, however, he also small a small inkling that him ordering everyone around would not be appreciated. In actual fact, he had an even greater inkling that he would more than likely be the one to have to complete these arrangements – not that this bothered him.

"Fine," Marluxia exclaimed, sighing dramatically to convey his thought into suitable actions. "I shall tend to the last one."

Demyx blinked. "You're going to dress up as Santa Claus?"

Marluxia grit his teeth firmly, eyes narrowing subconsciously as he tried to shake off the feeling of complete and utter infuriation. "Yes, I am going to dress up like Santa Claus – complete with bells and reindeer too!" he sneered sarcastically, turning away from the other.

"Really?" Demyx beamed.

"Idiot…" he muttered under his breath as he strode away from Demyx, leaving the other alone to contemplate whatever it was he was contemplating.

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED**

Preview:

The mauve-haired nobody stood tall, a hand on his hip as he stared firmly at the person in front of him. He did not wish to be here one moment, believing this to be nothing more than a waste of time and effort. The surroundings alone were enough to make him impatient, the tapping sound of his foot causing even him to become annoyed. This place was just horrible – sickening even. He only hoped this would go as easy as he imagined (or hoped at least).

"Get in the bag!" he demanded, his voice dripping with disdain for the person he addressed.

A red-faced man blinked at the sudden intrusion of his factory. He was currently in the process of preparing himself for the event of the year. He groomed his snowy beard, trimming off the three inches that had grown over the year, and brushed the moustache. He had even trimmed his nasal hair, ear hair, and eyebrows. It wasn't that he was unkempt, but more of the fact that he was too busy to attend to small matters as such. At least he had sustained from gorging on mince pies, like last year's fiasco. He could picture the astonished look in his wife's eyes as she was asked to alter his suit. It was more elastic than he was comfortable with, to be perfectly honest. Well, at least the colour didn't run, like three years ago. Wearing a deep pink suit didn't have the same impact as a red one.

* * *

**Author Note: **Well, it's finally happened. All the humour has been sucked from my being, leaving me with nothing but angsty feelings and the desire to transfer that into my writing. It's been a rough year for me, emotionally and physically. Just in case any of you are wondering - I have not given up writing because of what happened last time. It has come to my attention that some people feel like I am letting this get to me, thus forcing me to abandon all hopes of writing in fear of being ripped off again. This isnt the case - I'm just distracted, that's all.

I will also admit that I don't like this chapter at all but I don't have the will add anything further to it. However, never fear, there will be more in the last part of the special. It didn't feel right to put all that with this - I guess I should have added this to the last part, but oh well - I learned from this mistake. Hopefully, the next update won't take as long as the last (yes, I know it's been a year or so).

Reviewers: Thanks everyone for the encouraging reviews. I love reading them all, they give me the strength to semi write (part for myself, part for you, the fans). You're all great and I love you all XD


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